I learn something every day. What we called skippers when I was a kid, is a insect of the Gerridae family. They are commonly called water striders, water skeeters, water scooters, water bugs, pond skaters, water skippers, Jesus bugs, or water skimmers. They have retractable claws, elongated legs and body, and are covered with more than one thousand microhairs per milimeter. These tiny hairs provide the water strider with resistance to splashes or drops of water. These hairs repel the water, preventing drops from weighing down the body.