Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » True Bugs (Heteroptera) » Semiaquatic Bugs (Gerromorpha) » Gerroidea » Smaller Water Striders (Veliidae)
Photo#51238
Tiny Water Bugs
Copyright © 2006 tom murray

Tiny Water Bugs
Boxborough, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
May 7, 2006
Size: .6mm
If I squinted hard enough, I could find a bunch of these on the water surface at the edge of a swamp. Could these be the nymphs of Broad-shouldered water striders?
Contributed by tom murray on 7 May, 2006 - 10:45pm
Last updated 9 October, 2016 - 8:31am

Tarsal segments
The way to tell nymphs from adults in Veliidae is to check out the tarsi of the rear and middle legs. If one-segmented it is a nymph, if two-segmented, an adult. The photos I've taken in this family had a critter 2.5 mm long and I could easily make out the two-segmented tarsi, so I had an adult. With yours at .6 mm I don't know if you can decide about tarsal segments or not.

With those odd-shaped front legs (or rather their odd posture), I am wondering whether this is something other than Veliidae?

--Stephen

Stephen Cresswell
Buckhannon, WV
www.stephencresswell.com
… Stephen_WV, 29 May, 2006 - 5:56am

 
With this tiny size
I can't blow it up larger, because the image falls apart. We won't get a better view of the tarsi.
It could be something other than Veliidae, but after it being in ID Request for a couple weeks, I placed it in the closest thing in the guide.
Thanks for the info about the nymphs.
… tom murray, 29 May, 2006 - 2:35pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo