| Microvelia macgregori | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Family: | Veliidae |
| Genus: | Microvelia |
| Species: | M. macgregori |
| Binomial name | |
| Microvelia macgregori (Kirkaldy, 1899) | |
Microvelia macgregori is a species of true bug in the family Veliidae. It is semi-aquatic, living on the surface of water in freshwater habitats in New Zealand. [1]
Microvelia macgregori is a very small bug with a length of about 2 mm (0.08 in). [1]
Microvelia macgregori is endemic to New Zealand where it lives on the surface of water in various aquatic habitats including lakes and ponds, and the slow-moving backwaters of rivers and streams. [1] It is the only member of the Veliidae found in New Zealand; on upland tarns, winged forms are common while in lowland areas, wingless individuals predominate. [2]
Members of the family Veliidae are commonly known as "water striders", and move across the surface of quiet backwaters by walking or rowing; they can also clamber onto wet rocks or mudbanks. They lay their small eggs on floating or emergent plants, gluing them to the surface of the vegetation. [3] Microvelia macgregori spends much of its time on the surface of water, making seemingly random movements, moving jerkily in one direction, pivoting and moving off again in another. The speed of the movements varies and the motion may be interrupted by pauses of varying duration. When a number of bugs are present on a water surface, their movements are not coordinated. [1] M. macgregori is a predator and scavenger; when a larger living insect inadvertently lands on the water surface and struggles to get free, this makes vibrations which attract M. macgregori to feed. [1] The first bug to arrive extends its rostrum slowly and tries to insert its stylet into the prey. If the prey struggles further, the bug backs off, but tries again to feed when the struggling dies down. Other bugs may arrive, each trying to insert its stylus into the prey. When the feeding bugs are few in number, they periodically remove the stylus and reinsert it in a different position. Late arrivals may find little room to get close, and try to push their way in between other feeding bugs, which resist by kicking at the intruder with their hind legs. Dead insects drifting on the surface of the water do not make vibrations. In the daytime, the first bug may find large dead prey items visually, but smaller prey is found by accident, with later arriving bugs being attracted by vibrations created by the early arrivals. At night, dead prey of any size is found by accident. [1]
Hemiptera is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from 1 mm (0.04 in) to around 15 cm (6 in), and share a common arrangement of piercing-sucking mouthparts. The name "true bugs" is often limited to the suborder Heteroptera.
Aquatic insects or water insects live some portion of their life cycle in the water. They feed in the same ways as other insects. Some diving insects, such as predatory diving beetles, can hunt for food underwater where land-living insects cannot compete.
The Gerridae are a family of insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as water striders, water skeeters, water scooters, water bugs, pond skaters, water skippers, water gliders, water skimmers or puddle flies. Consistent with the classification of the Gerridae as true bugs, gerrids have mouthparts evolved for piercing and sucking, and distinguish themselves by having the unusual ability to walk on water, making them pleuston (surface-living) animals. They are anatomically built to transfer their weight to be able to run on top of the water's surface. As a result, one could likely find water striders present in any pond, river, or lake. Over 1,700 species of gerrids have been described, 10% of them being marine.
Veliidae is a family of gregarious predatory insects in the suborder Heteroptera. They are commonly known as riffle bugs, small water striders, or broad-shouldered water striders because the segment immediately behind the head is wider than the rest of the abdomen. Species of the genus Rhagovelia are also referred to as ripple bugs.
Nepidae is a family of exclusively aquatic Heteropteran insects in the order Hemiptera. They are commonly called water scorpions for their superficial resemblance to scorpions, due to their raptorial forelegs and the presence of a long slender process at the posterior end of the abdomen, resembling a tail. There are 14 genera in the family, in two subfamilies, Nepinae and Ranatrinae. Members of the genus Ranatra, the most widespread and species-rich genus, are sometimes called needle bugs or water stick insects as they are slenderer than Nepa.
Notonectidae is a cosmopolitan family of aquatic insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly called backswimmers because they swim "upside down" (inverted). They are all predators and typically range from 0.5 to 1.5 cm (0.2–0.6 in) in length. They are similar in appearance to Corixidae, but can be separated by differences in their dorsal-ventral coloration, front legs, and predatory behavior. Their dorsum is convex, lightly colored without cross striations. Their front tarsi are not scoop-shaped and their hind legs are fringed for swimming. There are about 350 species in two subfamilies: Notonectinae with seven genera, and Anisopinae with four genera. Members in the former subfamily are often larger than those in the latter.
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. 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 2 cm (0.8 in) long, although smaller species, down to 0.9 cm (0.35 in), also exist. The largest are members of the genus Lethocerus, which can exceed 12 cm (4.5 in) 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.
The Gerromorpha comprise an infraorder of insects in the "true bug" order Hemiptera. These "typical" bugs are commonly called semiaquatic bugs or shore-inhabiting bugs. The Ochteroidea (infraorder Nepomorpha are also found in shore habitat, while the Gerromorpha are actually most often encountered running around on the water surface, being kept from sinking by surface tension and their water-repellent legs. Well-known members of the Gerromorpha are the namesake Gerridae.
The New Zealand smelt, also known as the New Zealand common smelt, New Zealand cucumber fish, or silveries is a smelt of the family Retropinnidae, found only in New Zealand at shallow depths in estuaries and rivers. Their length is between 8 and 13 cm.
Velvet water bugs are members of the family Hebridae. They are semiaquatic insects that live among moss or ponds with an abundance of vegetation, in which they prey on small arthropods. Velvet water bugs are the smallest of the Gerromorpha, and have an appearance of tiny veliids. Hebrids sometimes move across water surfaces, but walk or run rather than skate or scull on the surface.
Notonecta glauca, also known as the greater water-boatman or common backswimmer, is a species of aquatic insect in the family Notonectidae. 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 water-boatmen. Notonecta glauca are Hemiptera 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 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. 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.
Velia caprai, known as the water cricket, is a species of aquatic bug found in Europe. It grows to a length of 8.5 mm (0.33 in) and is stouter than pond skaters of the family Gerridae. It is distasteful to predatory fish, engages in kleptoparasitism, and can travel at twice its normal speed by spitting on the water surface.
Microvelia is a genus of aquatic bugs in the family Veliidae. There are at least 230 described species in Microvelia.
Aquarius remigis, known as the common water strider, is a species of aquatic bug. It was formerly known as Gerris remigis, but the subgenus Aquarius was elevated to generic rank in 1990 on the basis of phylogenetic analysis. Aquarius remigis is found throughout North America, but is most prevalent in the mid-west of the United States.
Surface wave detection by animals is the process by which animals, such as surface-feeding fish are able to sense and localize prey and other objects on the surface of a body of water by analyzing features of the ripples generated by objects' movement at the surface. Features analyzed include waveform properties such as frequency, change in frequency, and amplitude, and the curvature of the wavefront. A number of different species are proficient in surface wave detection, including some aquatic insects and toads, though most research is done on the topminnow/surface killifish Aplocheilus lineatus. The fish and other animals with this ability spend large amounts of time near the water surface, some just to feed and others their entire lives.
Gerrinae is a subfamily of water strider. This subfamily includes the largest and most best-known group of Gerridae. They are also a phylogenetic subfamily made up of two tribes, and ~14 genera.
Gerris buenoi is a species of water strider that belongs to the family Gerridae. It was first identified in 1911 and is native to continental USA and Canada. Individuals of this species are small in size and have modified appendages, allowing them to float and "skate" along the surface of the water. G. buenoi can be found near the shoreline of freshwater ponds and small lakes, where they hunt for terrestrial insects that have fallen into the water.
Avian foraging refers to the range of activities and behaviours exhibited by birds in their quest for food. In addition to their unique body adaptations, birds have a range of described behaviours that differ from the foraging behaviours of other animal groups. According to the foraging habitat, birds may be grouped into foraging guilds. Foraging includes a range of activities, starting with the search for food, making use of sensory abilities, and which may involve one or more birds either of a single or even of multiple species. This is followed by locomotion and movements to obtain or capture the food, followed by the processing or handling of the foods prior to ingestion. Like all organisms foraging entails balancing the energy spent and energy gained. The high metabolic rate of birds, among the highest in the homoeotherm groups, constrains them to ensure a net positive gain in energy and have led evolutionary ethologists to develop the idea of optimal foraging.
Helotrephidae is a family of aquatic bugs found mainly in the tropical regions with many species in the Oriental Realm and a few from Africa, Madagascar and South America. These bugs are found swimming or walking amid submerged vegetation in stagnant or slow moving, shaded freshwater in forest habitats. They are a sister group of the Pleidae.
Appasus japonicus is a species of giant water bug in the family Belostomatidae. It is found in Japan and Korea, and has been much studied because it provides an example, rare among insects, of paternal care of the young. With the destruction of its typical habitat and its poor dispersal abilities, it has been listed as being an endangered species in Japan.