#nepidae

[onenicebugperday]

No ID needed on this one, just wanted to share this gorgeous and very relaxed water scorpion I plucked out completely barehanded while sampling for aquatic macroinvertebrates. They were super chill (or possibly just cold, considering they were near the outflow of a very chilly stream that comes down from the mountains) and weren’t terribly bothered by being lifted and examined. It took a surprising amount of coaxing to get them to stretch their front legs out for that last pic.

Ahhh what a cute friend! Big fan of waterscorpions and tragically have never gotten to handle one.

[aquatic-insects-enthousiast]

Seen at the Audubon aquarium in New Orleans, the stick body style of water scorpions! They had a whole tank! The connected insectarium also had an exhibit with some of the larger, wider body style, but I forgot to get a picture of those. Sorry for the picture quality, I got really excited and couldn’t stay still.

So many… ❤️❤️❤️

[8nanudraws8]

I want to post more art but I got nothing new so have this old art of @heraldmoth's God Character Nepidae that I am still super proud of! :)

It's inspired by @burrowsmp lore yummo- *eats*

[arachnotube]

Weird #creepy looking bug Haha. I love it - sat and watched it hunt. . . #waterscorpion #Nepidae #hemiptera #природа #instafollo #instafollow #insta #picoftheday #youtuber #instagood #explorepage #exotic #petsofinstagram #bugs #predatororpreyonline #wow (at Saint Clears, Carmarthenshire, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/predatororpreyonline/p/BvpOC2eneXo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1uldkpr9kw6j8

[northwestnaturalist]

Ranatra fusca “Brown Waterscorpion” Nepidae

Lake Inez, Lolo National Forest, MT May 23, 2017 Robert Niese

There’s something genuinely unnerving about insects viciously preying upon vertebrates, and waterscorpions are superbly specialized for this terrifying task. They sit near the surface of the water, head down, with their elongated, raptorial front limbs outstretched, waiting. Their long paired “tails” remain in contact with the water’s surface like a snorkel, allowing them to breathe while fully submerged. When some unlucky fish or tadpole swims too close, they snap them up like a mantis and immediately stab them with their sucking mouthparts. Their saliva both subdues and begins to digest their prey, allowing them to suck out the animal’s insides. On a completely unrelated note, this individual looks worse for wear, which led me to discover that adults actually overwinter in lakes and ponds here in Montana -- not an easy task considering that most bodies of water freeze-over completely at some point. So apparently they’re indestructible AND hyper-specialized predators. Thank goodness they’re only five inches long.

[kaikaku]

[onenicebugperday]

Waterscorpions in the genus Ranatra, Nepidae, Hemiptera

Waterscorpions (sometimes called water stick insects) are predatory, freshwater true bugs found throughout the world. Their raptorial front limbs are used for grasping prey, which includes other insects, tadpoles, and even small fish. They breathe air through a tail-like siphon on their rear end. Despite their almost exclusively aquatic lifestyle, they can and will fly, but do so rarely.

Photo 1 by zhongyankui, 2-3 by wenzel_sylvester, 4 by gijwans, 5-6 by Art Anker (shared with permission; do not remove credit or re-post!), 7 by vanremsen, 8 by josh_vandermeulen, 9 by diogoluiz, and 10 by hazelsnail

[drhoz]

#3641 - Ranatra dispar - Needle Bug

AKA Water mantis, water scorpions or water stick-insects. They're none of those things. Instead they're predatory aquatic true bugs with raptorial forelimbs and a hollow tail extension they use as a snorkle.

Australia has three species,but there's many others elsewhere in the world - South America is especially well-provided.

Eggs are laid just below the water's surface, on plants or in mud, and in ideal condition can mature to adulthood in a few months.

Erskine Lakes, Sth. of Perth.