Antique engraved illustration of the common backswimmer. Vintage illustration of the common backswimmer. Old engraved picture of the common backswimmer (Notonecta glauca). Notonecta glauca (common backswimmer) is a species of aquatic insect, and a type of backswimmer. This species is found in large parts of Europe, North Africa, and east through Asia to Siberia and China. In much of its range it is the most common backswimmer species. It is also the most widespread and abundant of the four British backswimmers. Notonecta glauca are Hemiptera (true bug) predators, that are approximately 13–16 mm in length. Females have a larger body size compared to males. These water insects swim and rest on their back (hence their common name "backswimmer" or "water boatman") and are found under the water surface. Notonecta glauca supports itself under the water surface by using their front legs and mid legs and the back end of its abdomen and rest them on the water surface. They are able to stay under the water surface by water tension, also known as the air-water interface (surface tension). They use the hind legs as oars, these legs are fringed with hair and, when at rest, are extended laterally like a pair of sculls in a boat. Notonecta glauca will either wait for its prey to pass by or will swim and actively hunt its prey. When the weather is warm, usually in the late summer and autumn, they will fly between ponds. Notonecta glauca reproduce in the spring.