Here are a few shots of a pond skater a took a few weeks back.
These true bugs or heteropterans stand on the surface tension of the water and ‘skate’ across it to catch insects that become trapped in the water.
These were all taken using my photographic aquarium, which was full to the brim, so the skater had to be stopped occasionally from trying to jump out!
25/09/2018
Is this a specific time for hundreds of pond skaters to be seen on rivers?
This what I saw today on the river flowing into the Jumbles Country Park, Bolton, Lancs
I would be very interested to know.
Im not sure it would be a specific time as they can be seen all spring and summer and most of autumn, until the weather cools and they become less active. It may be they have had a good breeding season there and you now have lots of well grown young and perhaps their parents too.
On rivers they also tend to gather in areas with low flow, often in large groups