Riffle bugs Temporal range: | |
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Microvelia macgregori | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hemiptera |
Suborder: | Heteroptera |
Superfamily: | Gerroidea |
Family: | Veliidae Amyot & Serville, 1843 |
Genera | |
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. The genus Rhagovelia is also referred to as a ripple bug.
Veliidae have a specialized body plan that allows them to walk on water and are neuston. Gerridae is another closely related group that is also neuston and both are in the superfamily Gerroidea. Veliidae are smaller however, between 1.5 and 6 mm (0.059 and 0.236 in). They can be found on ponds, near lake shores, and in rivers worldwide. Some species can also be found on plants near water, in salt water or in mud flats.
Like all Heteroptera, the Veliidae go through an egg, nymph and adult stage. They have four or five nymphal instars. [1] Both the adults and nymphs live together gregariously, in loose communities and can often be found in large groups. Eggs are usually laid underwater, attached to the stream bed, rocks or plant material and held together by a gelatinous substance. In most species females lay under 30 eggs. Nymphs are very similar to adults, but have one segmented tarsus on mid and hind leg as opposed to the adults' two. Some species prefer rapids or riffles in streams but many prefer calmer water. [2]
Veliidae is the largest gerromorphan family and has almost 1173 species and 66 genera. [3] The present distribution of these species points to two centers of origin: one in the Indo-Malayan region and another on the shores of the Caribbean Sea. [4] The geographical distance between these points is probably due to continental drift. And now they are present across all continents (except Antarctica).
Veliidae are very similar to Gerridae. The most consistent characteristic used to separate these two families are internal genitalia differences, however external cues are usually sufficient to tell the families apart.
A general description is as follows: an oval to elongate body covered with hydrofuge hairs. Wings can be present or absent; when present the wings range from well devolved to vestigial. The four segmented antennae is longer than the head and readily visible. The antennae is non-aristate. The eyes are usually large, but there are no ocelli. [5]
Males and females can be differentiated by the fore tibiae. Males have smaller tibiae with a grasping comb, as opposed to the larger plain female tibiae. [6]
Veliidae can walk on water because they take advantage of the high surface tension of water and have hydrophobic legs that distribute their weight across more water.
Although Gerridae typically have longer legs, Veliidae also have legs that spread out the weight over a relatively large area. Thousands of hydrofugal hairs also coat the entire body, mitigating potential problems incurred by water contact: air bubbles, trapped among the tiny hairs if the insect is submerged, lift the insect towards the surface again.
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.
The Pentatomoidea are a superfamily of insects in the Heteroptera suborder of the Hemiptera order. As Hemiptera, they share a common arrangement of sucking mouthparts. The roughly 7000 species under Pentatomoidea are divided into 21 families. Among these are the stink bugs and shield bugs, jewel bugs, giant shield bugs, and burrower bugs.
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.
Coreidae is a large family of predominantly sap-sucking insects in the Hemipteran suborder Heteroptera. The name "Coreidae" derives from the genus Coreus, which derives from the Ancient Greek κόρις (kóris) meaning bedbug.
A leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, and are covered with hairs that facilitate the spreading of a secretion over their bodies that acts as a water repellent and carrier of pheromones. They undergo a partial metamorphosis, and have various host associations, varying from very generalized to very specific. Some species have a cosmopolitan distribution, or occur throughout the temperate and tropical regions. Some are pests or vectors of plant viruses and phytoplasmas. The family is distributed all over the world, and constitutes the second-largest hemipteran family, with at least 20,000 described species.
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.
Reduvius personatus or the masked hunter is an insect belonging to the assassin bug (Reduviidae) family. The name is because its nymphs camouflage themselves with dust. The masked hunter is a predator of small arthropods, including woodlice, lacewings, earwigs, bed bugs and termites. Masked hunters do not feed on human blood, but can bite humans in self-defense when mishandled. The bite can be painful, but masked hunters do not carry Chagas disease unlike the kissing bug for which they are sometimes mistaken.
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.
Hydrometridae is a family of semiaquatic insects, known as marsh treaders or water measurers. They have a characteristic elongated head and body which makes them resemble a yardstick for measuring the water surface.
Coreus marginatus is a herbivorous species of true bug in the family Coreidae. It is commonly known as the dock bug as it feeds on the leaves and seeds of docks and sorrels. It is a medium-sized speckled brown insect, between 13 and 15 mm long as an adult, with a broad abdomen. It occurs throughout Europe, Asia and northern Africa. It is often found in dense vegetation, such as hedgerows and wasteland.
Halobates or sea skaters are a genus with over 40 species of water striders. Most Halobates species are coastal and typically found in sheltered marine habitats, but five live on the surface of the open ocean and only occur near the coast when storms blow them ashore. These are the only known truly oceanic, offshore insects. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine habitats around the world, with a single species recorded in rivers a few kilometers upstream from the ocean. Halobates are generally very common.
Gerris lacustris, commonly known as the common pond skater or common water strider, is a species of water strider, found across Europe.
Phymata crassipes is a species of assassin and thread-legged bugs belonging to the family Reduviidae, subfamily Phymatinae.
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.
Heterotoma planicornis is a species of bug from Miridae family.
Gerroidea is a superfamily of semiaquatic bugs in the order Hemiptera. There are at least 3 families and more than 2,000 described species in Gerroidea.
Notonecta undulata, also known by the common name grousewinged backswimmer, are from the family Notonectidae and the insect suborder Heteroptera. They are a type of hemipteran or true bug. These aquatic insects typically spend their time at the water's surface, using their abdomen and legs to cling to the underside of the surface tension. The Grousewinged backswimmer can be found in both lotic and lentic environments; however, they typically prefer small ponds and lakes where the water is slow-moving with less current. They swim upside down looking for prey. Once they stop swimming they float back up to the surface. These insects can be distinguished from water boatman or Corixidae by their segmented beak and front legs. Water boatman have highly modified front legs whereas backswimmers do not. Backswimmers are distributed across a broad range throughout North America. However, the species Notonecta undulata has only been documented and studied in southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the western United States. N. undulata differs from other backswimmers by their antennae and size. They are approximately 10–12 mm long, and their antennae are 4 segmented.
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.
Aposthonia ceylonica is a species of webspinner of the family Oligotomidae native to tropical Asia, Madagascar and Mauritius. In February 2019, a colony of this insect was identified in a greenhouse at the RHS Garden, Wisley, Surrey, England, on the roots of an orchid. It was thought that the insects had been accidentally introduced on plants imported from Thailand.
Hermatobates is a genus of wingless marine bugs placed as the sole genus in the family Hermatobatidae that are sometimes known as coral-treaders. They are quite rare and known only from coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. During low tide, they move over the water surface not unlike the more familiar water-striders around coral atolls and reefs and stay submerged in reef crevices during high tide.