Ask the ChatbotGames & QuizzesHistory & SocietyScience & TechBiographiesAnimals & NatureGeography & TravelArts & CultureProConMoneyVideos
water treader
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Quizzes
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
Animal Group Names
Lion (panthera leo)
Deadliest Animals Quiz
Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)
Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz
Green tree python snake (Chondropython viridis) in a rainforest.
Creepy Crawlers Quiz
vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.
Animal Factoids
Read Next
Wasp and bee, insect
What’s the Difference Between a Bee and a Wasp?
Malayan Leaf Frog - Megophrys nasuta
9 Animals That Look Like Leaves
Cook Strait giant weta (Deinacrida rugosa) found on Matiu/Somes Island in the harbour of Wellington, New Zealand. Dec. 17, 2009 insect
Big Bugs and Colossal Crabs: 7 Invertebrates of Unusual Size
Grasshopper on white background. (bug; insect)
Would You Eat Bugs?
Combo photo of the Great Green Bush Cricket (top) and the Elegant Grasshopper (bottom).
What’s the Difference Between a Grasshopper and a Cricket?
Discover
Town of Sisimiut located on the coast of the Davis Strait on Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay, Greenland
The Largest Islands in the World
pyramid sunset, egypt
What’s Inside the Great Pyramid?
Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics
10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time
The Colosseum, Rome, Italy. Giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. (ancient architecture; architectural ruins)
New Seven Wonders of the World
The Lost Colony of Roanoke, North Carolina, where 115 people mysteriously disappeared c. 1590. John White discovers the word Croatoan carved onto a tree upon his return to the deserted Roanoke Colony in 1590
The Lost Colony of Roanoke
An old worn baseball and wood bat
Who Really Invented Baseball?
number zero, 0 balloon
Is Zero an Even or an Odd Number?

water treader

insect
Also known as: Mesoveliidae
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
Related Topics:
Amphibicorisae
See all related content

water treader, any insect of the approximately 30 species of the family Mesoveliidae (order Heteroptera). These small, slender insects are yellowish or greenish in colour and are 5 millimetres (0.2 inch) or less in length.

Mesoveliids are predaceous and are usually seen on floating vegetation or on the water surface. One species, Phrynovelia papua of New Guinea, lives in leaves on the forest floor.

Britannica Chatbot logo

Britannica Chatbot

Chatbot answers are created from Britannica articles using AI. This is a beta feature. AI answers may contain errors. Please verify important information using Britannica articles. About Britannica AI.