Question

How do mosquitoes stand on water?

Answer 1

Hint: Mosquitoes basically has six legs and each leg has divisions in it namely coxa,trochanter, femur, tibia, tarsus and pretarsus unlike human leg which consists femur, tibia, fibula and the foot which further includes tarsals and metatarsals.

Complete answer:
Let us discuss in detail about the sections of mosquito legs. Coxa is the base of the leg and is attached to the body, trochanter is present in between coxae and femur. Femur is the longest portion which is quite visible to us. Tibia is the fourth segment which is long and slender like a femur. The tarsus is further divided into minute sections called tarsomeres. It is covered with many scales that are usually water repelling and this ability to stand on water also contributes to its flexible legs. The other scientists say that the surface tension of water keeps them floating and also the tiny hairs present on the legs make water difficult to penetrate through it. Smaller the body, greater is its surface area with respect to weight and there is more surface area to take advantage of surface tension of water that supports its weight.

Note:
This is something much related to physics. For this reason, mosquitoes were often called water striders. Water striders are the insects that make use of surface tension of water to walk on it and insects are said to be a great example of water striders.