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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » True Bugs (Heteroptera) » Semiaquatic Bugs (Gerromorpha) » Water Measurers (Hydrometridae)

Family Hydrometridae - Water Measurers

Female, Hydrometra australis? - Hydrometra martini - female

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 Gerromorpha (Semiaquatic Bugs)

Family Hydrometridae (Water Measurers)

Other Common Names

Marsh Treaders, Water Treaders, Pond-skaters

Explanation of Names

Hydrometridae Billberg 1820

Numbers

9 spp. in a single genus in our area(1); ~130 spp. in 7 genera (3 subfamilies) total(2)

Size

3-22 mm(2); our spp. 7-16 mm(3)

Identification

resemble small walkingsticks; eyes bulging, located about halfway along head; antennae 4-segmented, slightly longer than head, inserted near front of head; wings absent to functional

Range

worldwide (more diverse in the tropics)(4); in NA, mostly eastern, with some species extending to the west

Habitat

on emergent/floating vegetation along edges of ponds, marshes, and pools of slow-moving streams(2)(3)

Food

newly emerged, slow-moving, dying, or dead invertebrates (midges, mosquito larvae, bloodworms, ostracods, springtails, etc.)(5)(3)(4)

Life Cycle

eggs are laid either on vertical surfaces of plant stems or on ground several centimetres above water level(5)

Internet References

Family profile(4)

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.	Identification manual for the aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera of Florida Epler J.H. 2006. FL Dept. Env. Prot., Tallahassee, FL. 186 pp.

4.	What Bug Is That? The guide to Australian insect families

5.	Aquatic Insects of North America R. W. Merritt, K. W. Cummins, M.B. Berg. 2008. Kendall/Hunt.

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by Tony DiTerlizzi, Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, v belov
Last updated 1 September, 2020 - 10:59pm

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