Water scorpion is a type of bug that lives in water bodies where there is no current or it is insignificant. A favorite place is an aquatic environment with abundant vegetation. Plants for water scorpions are a kind of islands on which these insects and their larvae reside. Moreover, adults have tenacious paws for secure holding on plants.
Invisible Insects
These insects are not distinguished by sufficient mobility, they are not in a hurry, moving from place to place. In addition, compared to other beetles that inhabit the reservoir, bedbugs swim very poorly. Therefore, in order to satisfy the need for food, the water scorpion has no choice but to sit on a plant and wait for the moment when the prey itself approaches. The water scorpion has wings that are not fully used because they are very poorly developed.
Due to the water scorpion's characteristic cloaking coloration, it is almost impossible tonotice among plants - it differs little from a leaf floating on the water. Disguise is only for the benefit of the water scorpion. Spending most of the time in a stationary state, on the one hand, it remains unnoticed by enemies, and on the other hand, it helps to hunt easily.
Diet
While remaining motionless, the water scorpion instantly comes to life as soon as an unsuspecting victim approaches it. A sharp movement - and the victim finds himself in the front paws of the hunter, which are more like jaws than limbs: the knees are saber-shaped, compressing to the hips with a force palpable for the victim, they are invested in a longitudinal groove. A complete analogy with a folding knife, the blade of which, turning, hides in a special slot in the handle.
Like a powerful vise, the unfortunate victim is squeezed by the sharp jaws of a water scorpion, leaving her no chance. The death throes of the prey stop after a sharp jointed proboscis pierces into it. The strength of this tool can be judged by the fact that a person touching an insect with a finger receives an injection that causes pain. Not everyone knows what a water scorpion looks like. Photos will help to see his real appearance.
Water Scorpion Breathing Method
Insect breathes atmospheric air. The respiratory process occurs due to a long process. In an adult insect, such an organ can be found in the back of its body. It has the shape of a tube, which consists of 2 facing towards each othergrooves. Air enters the process after its end emerges from under the water. Moving along the respiratory tube, the air first accumulates in the closed space located under the wings, and then goes to the abdominal spiracles.
Unlike adults, larvae use small processes for breathing instead of a respiratory siphon, which they lack. Such a process, located at the end of the body of the larva, allows you to spend the necessary time, plunging under water. The water scorpion is not at all dangerous to humans, the bite causes only slight discomfort.
Water scorpion breeding
The insect reproduces by laying eggs by the female in the inner cavity of the plant stem. This usually happens in early June.
The name "water scorpion" does not mean at all that this insect is always on the water. He sometimes wants to crawl ashore and soak up the sun.
Eggs with future offspring are relatively large in size and oblong-oval in shape. One of its poles has a corolla, which consists on average of 7 (i.e., from 6 to 8) appendages in the form of threads. The egg is not completely immersed in the internal tissues of the aquatic plant - the appendages that look out from the outside open, forming a rosette. Obviously, appendages are necessary for air to enter the egg. Under favorable conditions, the common water scorpion breeds well.
Newly born, larvae onAt first glance, they are not much different from their parents. A distinctive feature is the absence of a breathing tube, which will appear after the last molt occurs in the larva.
