Common Pond skater (Gerris lacustris) vs Pirate Wolf Spider (Pirata piraticus) - Brighton, April 21

Probably one of the most fascinating videos out of the 300 or so I’ve already posted to this Wildlife Channel (hint: please subscribe). Be sure to watch this video all the way through to see something extraordinary as a fearsome predator of the water’s surface attacks another, with the main action repeated in slow-motion - and it needs to be! The Common Pond skater (also called Water skater or Water Strider) is one of nine to be found in the UK, zipping over the water’s surface in ponds, lakes, ditches and slow-flowing rivers, feeding on smaller insects which they immobilise with their sharp mouthparts or ’beaks’. They can usually be found between April and November, after which they hibernate in leaf litter and other debris. The long-legged Common Pond skater could only be confused with the smaller, thinner, more fragile-looking Common water-measurer, or the smaller, chunkier, shorter-legged Water cricket. Their ability to move so freely on the surface of water is down to very fine hairs on their legs which are water-repellent and allow them to stay buoyant upon the thin-film of the water’s surface. Combined with the water’s surface tension, they are able to sense the movement of other insects. The Pirate Wolf Spider uses the same trick to switch from land to water. Females can be up to 9 mm long, whilst males are about 6 mm. The colour pattern of this spider gives it a distinctive red-chestnut abdomen with a central mustard coloured cardiac mark and white sides to both the abdomen and carapace (the front body section). Now sit back and enjoy the action. Just don’t blink! PK (To watch any of over 270 of my short wildlife videos, please click the red ’Subscribe’ button) (** It’s not possible to be 100% certain of identification of the species in this video, given that both have other species within their genus with which they are similar. However, the evidence available, timing and location enables the ID’s to be ’most likely’ correct.)