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Giant Water Bug
Belostomatidae is a family of freshwater hemipteran insects known as giant water bugs or colloquially as toe-biters, Indian toe-biters, electric-light bugs, alligator ticks, or alligator fleas (in Florida). They are the largest insects in the order Hemiptera. There are about 170 species found in freshwater habitats worldwide, with more than 110 in the Neotropics, more than 20 in Africa, almost as many in the Nearctic, and far fewer elsewhere. These predators are typically encountered in freshwater ponds, marshes and slow-flowing streams. Most species are at least long, although smaller species, down to , also exist. The largest are members of the genus ''Lethocerus'', which can exceed and nearly reach the length of some of the largest beetles in the world. Giant water bugs are a popular food in parts of Asia. Morphology Belostomatids have a flattened, obovoid to ovoid-elongate body, and usually the legs are flattened. The head features two large compound eyes, but lacks oce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lethocerus Americanus
''Lethocerus americanus'' is a giant water bug in the family Belostomatidae, native to southern Canada and the United States (north of 35°N; other ''Lethocerus'' species are found southwards). It typically has a length around .P. J. Perez-Goodwyn (2006). ''Taxonomic revision of the subfamily Lethocerinae Lauck & Menke (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae)". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde.'' A (Biologie) 695: 1–71. It was originally classified as a species in genus '' Belostoma''. Habits Commonly found in ponds, marshes, and on the edges of lakes and slow-moving streams, and creeks, adults and larvae feed on other insects, small crustaceans (crabs/crayfish), tadpoles, snails, and small fish. The adult swims with the aid of its hind legs. A pair of front fore limbs is used for capturing and latching onto its intended prey, which it then injects with digestive toxins through a somewhat retractable proboscis much like that of a mosquito. ''L. americanus'' tends to let its prey dige ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belostoma
''Belostoma'' is a genus of insects in the hemipteran family Belostomatidae, known colloquially as giant water bugs. Members of this genus are native to freshwater habitats in the Americas, with the greatest species richness in tropical South America.Ribero, J. R. I. (2007). ''A review of the species of ''Belostoma'' Latreille, 1807 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Belostomatidae) from the four southeastern Brazilian states.'' Zootaxa 1477: 1-70. Most species in the family Belostomatidae have historically been included in ''Belostoma'', but several of these have been moved to other genera (although ''Belostoma'' remains a genus with many members).Perez-Goodwyn, P. J. (2006). ''Taxonomic revision of the subfamily Lethocerinae Lauck & Menke (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae)". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde.'' Serie A (Biologie) 695: 1–71. 9 species are claimed to be found in Northern America, but the genus Belostoma is actually divided into 16 subgroups containing about 70 species. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirkaldyia
''Lethocerus deyrollei'' is a species of giant water bug (family Belostomatidae) that traditionally is included in the genus ''Lethocerus'', although recent authorities place it in the ''Kirkaldyia''.P. J. Perez-Goodwyn (2006). ''Taxonomic revision of the subfamily Lethocerinae Lauck & Menke (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae)". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde.'' A (Biologie) 695: 1–71. They are large ( long), predatory and nocturnal insects. They are one of the best known giant water bugs and are found in Japan, Korea, east China, east Indochina and the Amur region of Russia. They are very common in much of their range, but have declined drastically in some regions and are considered threatened in JapanHirai, T.; and Hidaka, K. (2002). ''Anuran-dependent predation by the giant water bug, Lethocerus deyrollei (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae), in rice fields of Japan.'' Ecological Research 17(6): 655-661. and Korea. They live in still waters with vegetation, hatching in the summer mon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benacus (bug)
''Benacus'' is a genus of giant water bug in the hemipteran family Belostomatidae. ''Benacus'' is a monotypic genus, containing a single species, '' B. griseus'', which is found in North America. ''Benacus'' was formerly considered a subgenus of ''Lethocerus ''Lethocerus'' is a genus of the hemipteran family Belostomatidae, known colloquially as giant water bugs, toe biters and electric light bugs, distributed in tropical, subtropical and temperate areas of the world. The greatest diversity of speci ...''. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q21446310 Nepomorpha genera Belostomatidae Hemiptera of North America Taxa named by Carl Stål ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horvathinia
''Horvathinia'' is a small genus in the family Belostomatidae, and the only genus in its subfamily. Though it was originally thought to contain eleven species, upon recent reexamination, the number of species was reduced to two. ''Horvathinia'' are incredibly rare and found only in a small part of South America in the border region of Brazil and Argentina. Fewer than 100 specimens of the genus have been collected to date, always at lights at night. It remains unknown what their habits are, where they can be found in the water (though there is some evidence that they may lurk in the muck at the bottom of ponds), what their position in the phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spe ... of the water bugs is, or whether they brood their eggs as all other giant water bugs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
