Gerris lacustris
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Gerris lacustris, commonly known as the common pond skater or common water strider, is a species of water strider, found across Europe. Water striders vary in length ranging between 8 millimetres (0.31 in) and 10 mm (0.39 in) in size. Their body shape is very slender and elongated. They have six legs; the first pair is short and stubby while the other two pairs are thin and elongated which are used for moving over the water surface which we call "walking on water". The first pair of legs is used for holding its prey, the middle pair propels the bug along the surface of the water with either a rowing or jumping motion, and the hind pair of legs is used as rudders. The entire body of G. lacustris including its legs is covered with many tiny hairs that have a wax-like coating. G. lacustris are dark brown in colour. Water striders have very strong sucking mouthparts known as a rostrum or beak.
G. lacustris females are usually significantly larger than the males and the egg production rate is limited by the amount of food resources that are available to the female; the more food there is the more eggs the female lays. The adult water striders emerge around... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Common Pond Skater sighting in Paris on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 827th most-seen of the 916 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Common Pond Skater in Paris on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Among the best
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Eurasian Common Pond Skater sightings, Paris ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Prague (Czechia, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eurasian Common Pond Skater is recorded against all the insects logged in Paris (5 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
