Gerris swakopensis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Gerris swakopensis is an Afrotropical species of true bug. Common names include pond skater and water strider. It is aquatic, found in habitats with standing freshwater, such as ponds, pools, and backwaters of streams. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Water Strider sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 34 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 124th most-seen of the 344 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February, April and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Water Strider in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, May–September and November–December, the lowest months. Those are among Table Mountain National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 110 mm in June.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Water Strider sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Common Water Strider sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Addo Elephant National Park (South Africa, about 10%) and Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same order: Hemiptera
The closest relatives of the Common Water Strider that you can see in Table Mountain National Park (order Hemiptera, True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and allies) are Common Tip Wilter (about 10%), Brown Stink Bug (about 10%) and Cottony Cushion Scale (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Water Strider is recorded against all the insects logged in Table Mountain National Park (34 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
