Why does the world need water bugs? Predatory water bug: description, photo

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

Bed bugs are insects of the Hemiptera family. Worldwide, there are at least 40 thousand species of bedbugs. They live everywhere, but people do not always notice them. But there are also creatures that can harm people, turning their lives into a nightmare.

Types of bedbugs

Named insects have glands that are the source of an unpleasant odor. They scare off enemies with them and attract their relatives.

Some bugs (for example, living in Japan) carefully take care of their offspring, bringing food to the nest daily, and some lay eggs on the back of the male, where they develop until the larvae appear. The food of these creatures directly depends on the habitat.

People are well aware of the bed bug and water bug, but this is not all representatives of this species. In general, it has long been believed that these creatures are blood-sucking parasites. Indeed, some individuals are adapted to suck blood from animals, and only occasionally attack humans. True, the predatory water bug can cause panic in people who have neverencountered such an insect.

Water bugs: water striders and rowers

The size of these insects is small - from 2-30 mm. They have a thin and elongated body with long legs, with which they can easily move along the water surface. This type of bedbug is a predator, they do not disdain even the bodies of dead animals.

Fresh water striders lay their eggs on plants, and sea insects carry them on their backs. Often a person who loves to relax by the water comes across a water bug. Photos of these creatures are even placed in school textbooks of zoology.

The body length of rowers is about 0.5-0.6 cm, with short legs, shaped like spoons. A favorable place for their habitat is in shallow water. But they can not only swim, but also fly.

They are herbivores and feed mainly on algae, sometimes detritus. Male rowers chirp so that when they gather in large numbers on one pond, you can hear their many-voiced chorus from the water. This water bug poses no danger to humans.

Who are water scorpions and smoothies

Another type of bed bug is the water scorpion. In length, they grow no more than 45 mm. At the same time, their body is very elongated. The front paws are grasping, and they breathe with the help of a long tube that is located behind. This water bug lives in swamps. Water scorpions are predators and feed on fry and small animals that live in the water.

His bodyresembles a boat, which quickly and deftly cuts through the water column. The hind legs serve as oars for the bug. Insects have chosen ponds with stagnant water, but they can be seen in puddles and even in a barrel of water.

Gladysh is also able to fly in search of food, and he does this at night. It is a predator with piercing-sucking mouthparts. Thanks to his big eyes, no one can escape him.

The smooth water bug deftly holds its prey with its forelimbs, while piercing its shell and sucking the juice out of it. Males of this species, like rowers, make chirring sounds.

Giant water bugs

Giant water bugs are tropical inhabitants. There they chose almost all fresh water reservoirs.

These insects grow to 15 cm. The objects of the giants' hunting are fry, tadpoles, snails, and sometimes small fish come across. Watching for the victim, the predatory water bug can sit motionless for a long time. As soon as the prey approaches, the insect snatches it out of the water and immediately begins to absorb it.

Giant water bug can also fly, but does it very rarely, for example, if it suddenly becomes necessary to move to a new body of water. People are not of interest to them, but while bathing, the bug can still bite a person on the legs. This bite gives a very unpleasant sensation, but noDoes no harm.

Why does the world need water bugs? This question torments those who have a negative attitude towards insects of a certain species. To a greater extent, the creatures described are involved in the food chain of aquatic inhabitants. For example, frogs love to eat water striders and rowers. And in Thailand, a person can also taste giant water bugs, if, of course, he is a lover of exotic cuisine.

Ground bugs: horseflies and bugs

Another representatives of bedbugs are horseflies ranging in size from 2-9 mm. They have a bright color: dark brown, brick, orange or straw, and at the same time with dark or light stripes or dots on the back. They have long antennae, a proboscis, but no eyes. Mostly horseflies are herbivores, which is why they have taken root in the grass or on trees. Among them, there are also pests, which are the beet bug and the alfalfa bug.

The family of stink bugs includes several subspecies: tortoise stink bugs, earthen stink bugs, hemispherical, etc. Their body is rounded in size from 1.4 to 45 mm. Individuals feed on both plants and insects, and they are pests of fields and gardens.

As you can see, the water bug is not as harmful as its terrestrial relatives.

What are lace bugs?

Lace bugs got their beautiful name due to the shape of the body, which resembles lace. Their dimensions do not exceed 1.5-5 mm. They are inactive and do not have eyes. Lacemakers feed on the sap of fruit and larch trees, harming them.

Many gardeners are waging a hard fight with these insects, as you can lose your crop if you do not take any action. Bedbugs do not attack people, but trees suffer from them, there are even cases when a large number of these creatures "ate" voluminous garden lands.

Predatory bugs

Individuals of the predator family reach a length of up to 20 mm. They like to sit in places near rocks or in bird nests. Often found in residential buildings. They feed exclusively on small insects.

But the bugs of the genus Nabis and Orius are very useful for humans. They help to kill pests such as aphids and caterpillars, as well as the larvae of any invertebrates on agricultural land.

Bed bug

The well-known bed bugs are blood-sucking insects. Their body is oblong in shape and grows up to 8.5 mm. Mature individuals are red-brown in color, and their larvae are white. It is they who are the owners of the very glands from which an unpleasant odor emanates. Bedbugs prefer to settle in houses, closer to people, bat nests and mouse holes are suitable for them.

In warm conditions, bloodsuckers can breed around the clock. During the day, the female bug lays about 10 eggs, and in her entire life she can get up to 260 eggs. The larva from the egg is born after 17 days.

When the air temperature drops to +10 °C, insects will be able tolive for six months without food, and their larvae will enter suspended animation and can stay in it for up to a year. In frosts with temperatures below -17 ° C, bugs can live no more than a day, and in heat above +45 ° C they will die out within half an hour.

Any bug needs nature, although not all people understand this. Of course, there are dangerous representatives, but if you follow your home and carefully choose places for swimming, then nothing terrible will happen. Each type of bedbug is of particular value to other living organisms and nature in general. They are part of the food chain, so their extinction can lead to the death of several species of diverse representatives of fauna and flora.