#1836 - Hydrometra sp. - Marsh Treader
AKA Water Measurer.
The Hydrometridae are a new family for me - I don’t recall ever hearing of them before, let alone actually see one. Very weirdly shaped heads.
Most of the 147 known species of Hydrometrid are tropical, and wingless, but this one clearly has fully developed wings, which may explain why I spotted it on my windscreen instead of on the surface of the water near the edge of a marsh. It may have mistaken the reflection off the glass for water, which happens to a lot of aquatic insects that also fly from pond to pond.
Like most insects that live on the surface of the water (which includes families closely related to the Hydrometridae) they’re predators of unlucky insects stuck in the meniscus, but can also use their barbed rostrum to snag prey from under the surface.










