Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Genus Notonecta

Backswimmer - Notonecta kirbyi Notonecta irrorata Redbacked backswimmer - Notonecta lobata  Notonecta undulata? - Notonecta unifasciata Backswimmer - Notonecta uhleri Backswimmer - Notonecta undulata Boatman - Notonecta
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)
Infraorder Nepomorpha (Aquatic Bugs)
Superfamily Notonectoidea
Family Notonectidae (Backswimmers)
Genus Notonecta
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
world fauna reviewed in (1)
Explanation of Names
Notonecta Linnaeus 1758
from Greek noto 'the back' + necta 'swimmer'
Numbers
17 spp. in 4 subgenera in NA(2); 6 in NH(3), 5 in MI(4), 6 in NC(5), 4 in FL(6), 9 in TX(7)
Size
8-16 mm
Identification
rather large, common backswimmers; eyes widely separated; middle femur with a pointed spine before distal end(8)
Keys to spp. provided in(1)(6)(4)(8)
Range
widespread(2)
Works Cited
1.The genus Notonecta of the world (Notonectidae-Hemiptera)
Hungerford, H.B. 1934. The University of Kansas Science Bulletin 21(1):5-195.
2.Aquatic Insects of North America
R. W. Merritt, K. W. Cummins, M.B. Berg. 2008. Kendall/Hunt.
3.University of New Hampshire Insect and Arachnid Collections
4.Bright E. (2002-2011) Aquatic Insects of Michigan
5.NCSU insect collection species inventory database
6.Identification manual for the aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera of Florida
Epler J.H. 2006. FL Dept. Env. Prot., Tallahassee, FL. 186 pp.
7.Ziser S.W. (2008-2012) The aquatic invertebrates of Texas
8.How to Know the True Bugs
Slater, James A., and Baranowski, Richard M. 1978. Wm. C. Brown Company.