They look like little rowboats, darting around  just below the surface of a pond or gentle stream.

But backswimmers are anything but gentle.

The surface of the pond is a barrier  between two worlds … and backswimmers?

They rule that in-between.

These little predators spend most of their time  swimming around upside down on their backs.

They row around with their gigantic back legs.

Hairs on the tips of their legs  fan out like the blade of a paddle.

Those hairs, plus more on their abdomen, let them  balance on the underside of the water’s surface.

Kinda like they’re hanging out on the ceiling.

These relentless hunters patrol the  shallows in search of unlucky prey …   and drag them down to a watery death.

One of their favorite snacks are these  mosquito larvae loitering at the surface.

The backswimmer stabs the mosquito with  its beak — injecting digestive enzymes,   and sucking out its meal, leaving an empty husk.

But backswimmers aren’t the only  predators to look out for in these parts.

Their massive eyes wrap around from  the top of their head to the bottom   so they can watch for danger below  while keeping their eye on the sky.

A single shadow will send them  diving for safety in the vegetation.

And these bugs can hide down there for a while.

They trap a bubble of air around their  abdomen that they use to breathe.

So, they have to hold onto something or  they’ll pop right back up to the top.

These backswimmers have been hanging out  feasting on nearly everyone in sight.

But what happens when they  start running out of food?

They’re trapped in this pond right?

Nah, not these bugs.

First, they do a very athletic flip,  bursting out of the water and landing on top.

They unfurl their wings that they’ve been  hiding this whole time under a leathery cover.

And take flight.

Sometimes traveling for days  in search of a new home.

These bugs are often one of the very  first creatures to settle in streams,   ponds and even swimming pools.

Explorers that straddle the  boundary between water and sky.