Pondskater

From Nookipedia, the Animal Crossing wiki

Artwork of pondskater
Real-world info
Name: Gerris lacustris
Family: Gerridae
Main appearances

Other appearances
Names in other languages
 アメンボ
 水黾
 Patineur
 Zapatero
 Gerride
 Водомерка
 소금쟁이
 水黽
 Patineur
 Zapatero
 Wasserläufer
 Schaatsenrijder

The pondskater (known as the pond skater prior to Wild World) is a bug in the Animal Crossing series introduced in Animal Crossing. It can be found on the surface of bodies of freshwater.

Catch details

In Animal Crossing

#33
Pondskater
"I caught a pond skater! And it was doing a triple-toe axel!"

Time of year[nb 1] Jun – Sep
Time of day 8 AM – 7 PM
Location On the lake
On ponds
Weather Any weather
Selling price  130 Bells
Furniture size 1.0 x 1.0


In Wild World

#26

Pondskater
"I caught a pondskater! Try to skate away from ME!"

Description They live off of bugs that fall into the water.
Time of year May – Sep
Time of day 8 AM – 7 PM
Peak times N/A
Location On rivers and ponds
Bug size 14 mm
Rarity Uncommon
Selling price  130 Bells
Furniture size 1.0 x 1.0


In City Folk

#28

Pondskater
"I caught a pond skater! Skate on over my way!"

Description For obvious reasons, these are also known as "magic bugs".
Time of year May – Sep
Time of day 8 AM – 7 PM
Peak times N/A
Location On rivers and ponds
Bug size 14 mm
Rarity Uncommon
Selling price  130 Bells
Furniture size 1.0 x 1.0


In New Leaf

#31

Pondskater
"I caught a pond skater! Why aren't they called pondskiers?"

Time of year May – Sep
Time of day 8 AM – 7 PM
Peak times Jun:
5 PM – 7 PM
Location On rivers and ponds
Size 15 mm
Rarity Common
Selling price  130 Bells
Furniture size 1.0 x 1.0


In New Horizons

#38

Pondskater
"I caught a pondskater! Wonder if it can do a pond ollie..."

Time of year North: May – Sep
South: Nov – Mar
Time of day 8 AM – 7 PM
Location On rivers and ponds
Weather Any weather
Spawn requirement Appears from the start of the game
Selling prices  Nook's Cranny 130 Bells
 Flick 195 Bells
Furniture size 1.0 x 1.0


Donating to the museum

In Animal Crossing

"I've always been curious... Why is it that these water striders choose to live their lives on the water? And skating across water without sinking? Unnatural! Blech! A grotesque affront to the natural order, wot wot!"

In Wild World

"Do you know how pond-skaters keep themselves above water, wot? The oil on the hairs of their feet repel water! Thusly they stay afloat. Which begs the question, if one were to shave their feet, would they sink? I daresay, I cannot think of a worse job than being the shaver of insect feet."

In City Folk

"Some say pond skaters smell like candy. Which means someone took the time to sniff one. ...Which means I just lost any appetite I might ever have for candy..."

It can be found in the bottom terrace of the insect exhibit, in the small pond.

In New Leaf

Upon being donated, the pondskater can be found in the first room of the bug exhibit skating around the pond. The exhibit has this to say about the pondskater:

"Pondskaters distinguish themselves by having the ability to run on the surface of water. They have a mouth part that lets them suck up bugs that fall on the water's surface. Their wings allow them to freely move to different parts of the water's surface if the need arises. Some say they smell like candy, which is a rather curious association to make in the insect world."

In New Horizons

"Putrid pondskaters! They walk on water, you know...which is most preposterous! It is a trick they perform by secreting oil onto the hairs of their feet. To which I say BLEEECH! And one must wonder... What will they do next? Walk on air? Walk through walls? Perish the thought..."

When donated, the pondskater can be found on the surface of the water in the southwestern water tank of the bug exhibit. It shares this habitat with the diving beetle, giant water bug, and some donated fish.

Gallery

Real-world information

There are over 500 different variants of pond skaters, all with different body shapes, legs, wings, size, and mannerisms. The reason they "skate" along the water is because underneath their legs and their body, are thin, microscopic hairs which allows them to move across water tension with ease - they also have a slight wax coating, but research has proven that it is more down to the hairs than the wax properties. They have six legs, two pairs are long while the front pair are short and used as rudders. They are predatory insects, feeding on other insects that fall into the water, such as ants and even honey bees. They live in calm water areas, such as domestic ponds.

Names in other languages

Japanese アメンボ
Amenbo
Pondskater

Korean 소금쟁이
Sogeumjeng-i
Pondskater

Simplified Chinese 水黾
Shuǐmǐn
Pondskater

Traditional Chinese 水黽
Unknown

Russian Водомерка
Vodomerka
Pondskater

Dutch Schaatsenrijder Pondskater

German Wasserläufer Pondskater (lit. "Water walker")

European Spanish Zapatero Pondskater

European French Patineur Pondskater (lit. "skater")

Italian Gerride Pondskater (from family name Gerridae)

Notes

  1. All bugs and fish in the first-generation games can appear at a lower spawn rate up to five days before the start of their first month of availability.