''Lethocerus deyrollei'' is a species of giant water bug (family

Belostomatidae 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 or ...

) that traditionally is included in the genus ''

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 ...

'', 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 Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

and nocturnal insects. They are one of the best known giant water bugs and are found in Japan, Korea, east China, east

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

and the

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China ( Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long, ...

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 months and then

overwintering Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activi ...

half a year later as adults. They primarily feed on small fish, amphibians and aquatic insects, but have also been recorded taking water snakes and young turtles. The

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

of this species are laid out of water, generally on vegetation. Males exhibit parental care by keeping eggs damp. This is achieved by climbing up to the egg mass and having the water drip off their bodies onto the eggs. Eggs that are not kept damp in this way fail to hatch.

Infanticide behaviour

Females of the species are known to destroy eggs guarded by males (ovicide, a form of infanticide), which secures care for their future offspring.Ichikawa, N. (1995) Male counterstrategy against infanticide of the female giant water bug ''Lethocerus deyrollei'' (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae). ''Journal of Insect Behavior'' 8:181-186. It appears that a "counterstrategy" has evolved in males, which spend a much greater time with the eggs than is necessary to keep them wet. Most of the water is deposited on eggs within 90 seconds, but males have been reported to stay with eggs much longer than that. This is because males which stay with the egg mass cannot be detected by females. Brooding males will also attack female intruders, being successful in defending their eggs about one third of the time, though some are seriously injured in doing this.Ichikawa, N. (1991), Egg mass destroying and guarding behaviour of the giant water bug ''Lethocerus deyrollei'' Vuillefroy (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae). ''Journal of Ethology'' 9: 25-29. Males will only put up a fight as eggs are first being destroyed, and have been witnessed to abruptly cease defending their eggs and begin

copulating Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetra ...

with the encroaching female. Infanticide has also been recorded in another insect, the

burying beetle Burying beetles or sexton beetles, genus ''Nicrophorus'', are the best-known members of the family Silphidae (carrion beetles). Most of these beetles are black with red markings on the elytra (forewings). Burying beetles are true to their name� ...

Nicrophorus orbicollis ''Nicrophorus orbicollis'' is a nearctic burying beetle first described by Thomas Say in 1825. It is a member of the genus '' Nicrophorus'' or sexton beetles, comprising the most common beetles in the family Silphidae. This species is a decompose ...

''.Trumbo, S. T. (1990). Reproductive benefits of infanticide in a biparental burying beetle ''Nicrophorus orbicollis''. ''Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 27: 269-273.

References

{{Authority control Belostomatidae Hemiptera of Asia