Mosquitoes are a summertime menace…but they're also a marble,maverick,marvel,mysteryof mechanical engineering. They can stick to your skin, fly,cling,hang,hoverto a wall, and even walk on water. Now a team of physicists from China and Canada have given,figured,led,piecedout how they do it. The resolve,trick,pitch,catchis in the feet. First off, mosquitoes have tiny hugs,patches,tips,hookson their tootsies , which they use to latch onto skin. And they hang onto walls the same way geckos do…using hairy little foot pads that let them stick to surfaces like they're wearing Velcro socks. But it's their water walking that may be their most valuable,remarkable,irresistible,charitable, er, feat. To dance across a pond…or stand atop a puddle… mosquitoes use their superhydrophobic legs. These limbs are so phenomenally water repellant…that each one could effectively support 23 times the insect's weight. At least that's what the physicists discovered when they took a single mosquito leg and dwindled,measured,hectored,beckonedthe force needed to push it into a cup of water. The reason the legs are so hydrophobic is because they're coated with tiny, featherlike scales…that are in turn covered by even tinier ribbing. So next time you swat a skeeter, remember: you just wacked a wonder of nature.