First of all, they're insects, so they have 6 legs. Their front two legs are very short because they're mainly used in the capturing of their prey, creatures like mosquito larvae (which makes water striders "good guys"). Their middle two legs are
primarily used to propel the insect in the water while the rear set is used to steer. Those facts alone make them interesting, once you get into the study of how they operate. However, it's their ability to float that takes the prize!
These bugs have tiny hairs (about 1/5 the diameter of a human hair) all over their bodies. At the
end of each hair is a series of very tiny tubes which capture air bubbles. On the surface of their bodies, this aspect makes them essentially waterproof so that if they somehow get wet or even get submerged, they will repel water and refloat! These tiny tubes of trapped air on the bottoms of their feet make them virtually unsinkable. The whole process also uses to great effectiveness the surface tension of the water.
Everywhere we look, we see the Designer's incredible handiwork!
