#ranatra

[danskjavlarna]

Source details and larger version.

Some very weird vintage insects are collected here.

[bazilicks]

Baby Freako you are so famous to me

[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

[rlsk7777777]

Ranatra unicolor

ヒメミズカマキリ

体長：約30mm (呼吸管除く)

分布：北海道〜南西諸島

RDB：ー

小型のミズカマキリで、全長に占める呼吸管の長さもミズカマキリに比べて短い。

ヒシやジュンサイ等の浮葉植物や、カンガレイ等の抽水植物の多い池沼に生息する。

[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.

[onenicebugperday]

We found this friend in a lake near Atlanta, GA. It attached itself to my spouse while we were swimming. Based on our preliminary search, we think it's a ranatra linearis. Does that sound right? Also, we broke the number one rule of handling unfamiliar creatures and we all held it thinking it was just a regular stick bug. Had it bitten us (our fault) how painful/dangerous is the bite?

Ranatra for sure, but narrowing it down to a species would be difficult. Ranatra linearis is a European species, though, so it wouldn't be that one. Because they're true bugs in the order Hemiptera, they have sucking mouthparts rather than chewing jaws. Their "bite" is more of a jab from their proboscis. It's not medically significant for humans and wouldn't cause any lasting damage or anything, but it can be painful. Apparently less painful than that of their relative, the toe-biter, according to what I've read! I've never been jabbed personally.

[onenicebugperday]

@frootloops77​ submitted: Here’s a bug I found in a lake in south Quebec in the summer. It’s a bit hard to see but it was the first time I saw anything like it! Would love to know what kind of friend it is :)

Ooohhh fun I so rarely get these submitted! It’s a waterscorpion, likely Ranatra fusca, the brown waterscorpion. Despite the common name, they’re not scorpions or arachnids, but true bugs in Hemiptera. The genus Ranatra specifically are referred to sometimes as water stick insects. They’re predatory and they use their front arms to grasp their prey. They have a tube sticking off their abdomen used to breathe!

You can’t see much detail in your photos so here’s a closer look:

Photos by Greg Gilbert and dexternienhaus

[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.