British Insects: the Families of Hemiptera
| British Insects: the Families of Hemiptera | |
Naeogaeidae.
Sphagnum Bugs.
Salient features of adults. Terrestrial to dwelling (skating) on the surface of water (semi-aquatic, in wet places, often in Lemna or Sphagnum).
Predacious, or feeding on dead arthropods (on living or dead arthropods). Tiny; 1–2 mm long; fliers; not jumpers; relatively stout bodied; not stilt-legged. Head non-linear. Rostrum clearly separated ventrally from the prosternum by a sclerotized gula; 4 segmented. Antennae longer than the head, readily visible from above; 5 segmented; non-aristate. Ocelli present (?). Fore-wings well developed (Hebrus pusillus), or vestigial or absent (usually, in H. ruficeps); in the resting insect lying more or less flat over the abdomen; of macropters, differentiated into a basally thickened and a distally membranous region. Hind coxae mobile; rotatory. Tarsi 2 segmented (the basal segment very small). Claws all apical. Pulvilli absent. The abdomen covered ventrally with dense, silvery pubescence.
Comments. Underside of abdomen covered with dense, silvery hairs; prosternum without a stridulatory groove.
Taxonomy. Suborder Heteroptera; Gerroidea (or Hebroidea).
British representation. Genera 1; 2 species.
The interactive key offers full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the families of Hemiptera. Version: 9th April 2007. http://delta-intkey.com’.