Nepa (bug)
| Nepa | |
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| Nepa cinerea | |
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| Genus: | Nepa |
Nepa is a genus belonging to the family Nepidae, known as water scorpions.
They are oval-bodied, aquatic insects with raptorial front legs. Like other members of the Nepidae, they have a pair of nonretractable cerci-like breathing tubes on the terminal abdominal segment, a characteristic which readily distinguishes them from the Belostomatidae. Their primary staples are other insects and small aquatic vertebrates. They can inflict a painful bite when handled.[2]
Etymology
'Nepa' is a classical Latin word for a 'scorpion' or 'crab'.[3]
Species
A partial list of species includes:[4]
- Nepa apiculata Uhler, 1862
- Nepa cinerea Linnaeus, 1758
- Nepa anophthalma Decu et al., 1994[5]
N. apiculata is the only extant species found in United States and is widely distributed,[2] while N. cinerea is found in Europe.
Linnaeus lists a number of species in his initial description of the genus, many of which, if not all, have been moved to other genera.
References
- ^ Carl von Linné (1757). Systema naturae (10 ed.). p. 440.
- ^ a b Donald Borror; Richard White (1970). A field guide to the insects of America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-395-07436-7.
- ^ 'Nepa' on latin-dictionary.net
- ^ 'Nepa' on ITIS.gov
- ^ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233569840_Stygobiotic_Waterscorpion_Nepa_anophthalma_n_sp_Heteroptera_Nepidae_from_a_Sulfurous_Cave_in_Romania