Take a Walk on the Water Side

One of the strongest evidences against evolution and in favor of creation is, in my view, the wide variety found in nature. Common sense would imply that there would be much less variety as things evolved. Instead, we can wonder, "Why would something evolve that way, and most other creatures didn't?"

Water Strider (family Gerridae)

For example, consider the bug that is often called the Water Strider (or Water Bug, among others). It walks, runs, or seemingly skips on the water. Without sinking. Why do you suppose that is?

Water striders skim across ponds and streams as if skating on ice. How do they “walk on water” while staying completely dry?

A closer look at water striders’ feet provides the surprising answer. Many other bugs stick like glue when they touch water, but the water strider’s feet are covered with thousands of fuzzy little hairs, called microsetae, that trap air and create a floating cushion.

These needle-shaped strands are dozens of times narrower than a human hair and coated with a special wax. Each strand also is covered with an orderly arrangement of microscopic channels, or nanogrooves. When wet, the grooves trap tiny air bubbles. The result is an effective water-repellent, or hydrophobic, barrier. Taking advantage of the natural surface tension or “stickiness” of water itself, the airborne strider remains high and dry.

Now I'd like to bug you to read the rest of the short article called "Water Striders — Walking on Water".