Halobates

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Genus of true bugs

title: "Halobates" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["gerromorpha-genera", "halobatinae", "aquatic-insects", "fauna-of-the-pacific-ocean", "marine-insects"] description: "Genus of true bugs" topic_path: "general/gerromorpha-genera" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halobates" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of true bugs ::

| fossil_range = | image = Aggregation of sea skaters.png | image_caption = A group of the coastal Halobates matsumurai at the Kujūku Islands, Japan | taxon = Halobates | authority = Eschscholtz, 1822 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = More than 40, see list

Halobates, colloquially the sea skaters or ocean striders, are an insect genus with over 40 species of water striders. Most Halobates species are coastal and typically found in sheltered, coastal marine habitats (a habitat where a few other genera of water striders also live), but five live on the surface of the open ocean and only occur near the coast when storms blow them ashore. These are the only known truly oceanic, offshore insects. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine habitats around the world, with a single species recorded in rivers a few kilometers upstream from the ocean. Halobates are generally very abundant where they are found.

Discovery

They were first collected by Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, a doctor who was part of a Russian expedition aboard the Rurik between 1815 and 1818.

A fossil species, H. ruffoi, is known from 45 million year old deposits in Verona, Italy.

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Halobates_keyanus.jpg" caption="''Halobates hayanus'' ([[zoological specimen]] showing the typical death pose)"] ::

Halobates are small insects with a body that is up to 6.5 mm long and 3 mm broad,

Close relatives of the genus include Austrobates and Asclepios.

Range and abundance

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Halobates_sp._(Heteroptera_Gerridae),_20_August_2011,_Castle_Beach,Kailua(Oahu),_Hawaii03.jpg" caption="Two ''Halobates'' on the shore of [[Oahu]], Hawaii, with upper individual facing left and lower facing right"] ::

Halobates are found in tropical and subtropical marine habitats around the world. They generally prefer temperatures of 24-28 C, are infrequent below 20 C and only exceptionally recorded in waters less than 15 C. from its mouth.

The five offshore, pelagic species are H. micans, H. germanus, H. sericeus, H. splendens and H. sobrinus, of which the last four are found in the Indian and/or Pacific Oceans. H. micans has a circumglobal range, occurring offshore in warmer seas around the world from about 40° north to 40° south, and it is the only one found in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean.

Their occurrences are generally patchy, but where found they can be very common. During scientific surveys with relatively fast-moving surface nets, they are caught in more than 60% of the tows (less in slow-moving tows, likely because of their ability to avoid them). and 120 individuals per m² (11 per sq ft) in breeding aggregations of the coastal species.

Behavior and predators

They are predators, with coastal species feeding mainly on land-living insects that have fallen into the water. They use a rowing stroke to propel themselves, with the middle tarsi quickly pressed down and backwards to create a circular surface wave in which the crest can be used to propel a forward thrust. The semicircular wave created is essential to the ability of the water strider to move rapidly since it acts as a counteracting force to push against. As a result, Halobates can move at 1 m per second or faster.

The coastal species lay their eggs close to the water surface on rocks, plants, and other structures near the shore, while the oceanic species attach their egg masses on floating objects such as cuttlebone and feathers. In one extreme case, a plastic gallon jug was found to be covered by 15 layers of eggs, equalling about 70,000 in total.

Some species of storm petrel actively feed on Halobates, sometimes splashing the water with their feet to attract or detect sea striders. Other seabirds (especially noddies) and a range of surface-feeding fish will also eat them.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Halobates_sericeus.jpg" caption="A live specimen of the pelagic species ''[[Halobates sericeus]]''" alt="A live specimen of the pelagic species Halobates sericeus"] ::

Open research questions

Apart from understanding how exactly Halobates sp. came to be the only genus of insects to live on the open ocean – in spite of insects making up the majority of all animals – those animals offer unique research questions that could have applications in materials sciences.

Incapable of diving or taking shade, Halobates must protect themselves from their incessant exposure to solar radiation. Although it is known that the cuticle of Halobates sericeus reflects more than 99.9998 percent of the UV radiation at the 280 nm wavelength, the physical properties that confer this protection are still unknown.

References

References

  1. (1973). "The ocean strider Halobates (Heteroptera Gerridae) in the Atlantic Ocean.". Okeanolog-via, 13 (4): 683-690 [in Russian] English transl [in] Oceanology.
  2. Herring, Jon L. (1961). "The genus ''Halobates'' (Hemiptera: Gerridae)". Pacific Insects.
  3. (1994). "A fossil Halobates from the Mediterranean and the origin of sea skaters (Hemiptera, Gerridae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
  4. Cheng, L.. (1985). "Biology of Halobates (Heteroptera: Gerridae)". Annual Review of Entomology.
  5. (1992). "Sea skaters of India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, with a new species and a revised key to Indian Ocean species of Halobates and Asclepios (Hemiptera, Gerridae)". Journal of Natural History.
  6. (2010). "Importance of marine insects (Heteroptera: Gerridae, Halobates spp.) as prey of eastern tropical Pacific seabirds". Marine Ornithology.
  7. (2022-04-13). "Why did only one genus of insects, Halobates, take to the high seas?". PLOS Biology.

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