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Family Nepidae - Waterscorpions

How do you tell which species of Ranatra? - Ranatra fusca

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 Nepoidea

Family Nepidae (Waterscorpions)

Explanation of Names

Nepidae Latreille 1802

Numbers

2 subfamilies, with 13 spp. in 3 genera in our area(1) and ~270 spp. in 15 genera worldwide(2)

Size

15-46 mm + 16-44 mm breathing tube(1)

Identification

Key to species in (3)

Ranatra resemble walkingsticks

Nepa resemble giant water bugs; e. US

Curicta AZ-TX only

Range

Worldwide, by far more diverse in warmer regions(2); in our area, Ranatra are widespread (and the most commonly found), Nepa apiculata occurs in e. US, and the relatively rare Curicta species, in sw. US(4)

Habitat

fast- or slow-moving water, mostly the latter; they wait submerged on floating plants and other debris for prey(2)

Works Cited

1.	American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.

2.	Biodiversity of the Heteroptera Henry T.J. 2009. In: Foottit R.G., Adler P.H., eds. Insect biodiversity: Science and society. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell: 223−263.

3.	Nepidae (Hemiptera) of the United States and Canada Sites, R. W., and J. T. Polhemus. 1994. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 87(1):27-42.

4.	Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects Norman F. Johnson, Charles A. Triplehorn. 2004. Brooks Cole.

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 6 April, 2004 - 4:25pm
Additional contributions by v belov, marcie oconnor, metrioptera, Tyler Hedlund
Last updated 27 October, 2021 - 1:58pm

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