Fishing spiders on water

Fishing spiders on water

Fishing spider species, also known as water-running or raft-building spiders, have an amazing ability to run on water. They are abundant (9) ________ the freshwater wetlands of southern Europe (10) ________ they spend much of their time among reeds and are never that (11) ________ from water. When threatened, they can leap from a plant and race at (12) ________ speed of about 1.5 metres per second across the surface of the water. To accomplish this, on their rear legs they have fine hairs (13) ________ layers of trapped air that spread out in the water to create a floating cushion. (14) ________ they are able to maintain their speed, this layer of air prevents them from sinking. Interestingly, they are born with the ability (15) ________ only to move on land and water but also to dive and swim. Fishing spiders are carnivores and survive (16) ________ a diet of aquatic insects, tadpoles, fish and small creatures, and are a common sight in the southern European wetlands.