article Subject Matter of Experiments and Observations of Water Animals in School
Aquarium IX. (Rearing of Nektonic Water Bugs)
Lubomír Hanel
information
year: 2021
issue: 1
fulltext: PDF
online publishing date: 24/3/2021
DOI: 10.14712/25337556.2021.1.3
ISSN (Online): 2533-7556
Toto dílo podléhá licenci Creative Commons Uveďte původ 4.0 Mezinárodní License.
abstract
The rearing of water bugs in school aquaria is described in this contribution. The following families are presented: 1) Notonectidae are commonly called backswimmers because they swim upside down. They are predators and paddle with their long, hair-fringed hind legs and attack prey such as insect water larvae, tadpoles and small fish. They can inflict a painful „bite“ on a human being. They inhabit still freshwater, e.g., lakes, ponds, marshes, and are sometimes found in garden ponds and even swimming pools. They can fly well and so can disperse easily to new habitats. The common backswimmer, Notonecta glauca, up to 16 mm long, is widespread in Czech waters. 2) Pleidae, the pygmy backswimmers, are only 2–3 mm long, and like backswimmers they are in an upside-down position when swimming. Both sexes are able to stridulate. Pygmy backswimmers inhabit lacustrine ecosystems. They are predatory, hunting other tiny invertebrates, e.g., mosquito larvae. Similar to true backswimmers, pygmy backswimmers carry an air reserve with them which is periodically replenished by a dash to the water's surface. This air is contained in a felt-like cushion on the underside. Thus (similar to backswimmers), the belly has a higher buoyancy, resulting in the animal turning upside down as soon as it lets loose from the substrate. 3) Naucoridae, known as creeping water bugs and saucer bugs, inhabit a wide range of freshwater habitats, ranging from still waters, like ponds, to flowing rivers and even torrential streams. The predaceous saucer bug Ilyocoris cimicoides, up to 15 mm long, is a common species. It swims in a normal position, i.e., right side up. 4) Corixidae, or water boatmen, have a long, flattened body ranging from 2.5 to 15 mm long. Corixidae dwell in slow rivers and ponds, as well as some household pools. They swim right side up. Corixidae are mostly non-predatory, feeding on aquatic plants and algae. Corixids are able to leap out of the water into the air and take flight. 5) The river bug Aphelocheirus aestivalis belongs to the family Aphelocheiridae. Its flattened body is circular, up to 10 mm long. This benthic aquatic insect relies totally on an incompressible physical gill to exchange respiratory gases with water. The gill is called a “plastron”. It consists of a stationary layer of air held in place on the body surface by millions of tiny hairs that support a permanent air-water interface, so that the insect never has to renew the gas at the water's surface. Members of the above-mentioned families are suitable for rearing in cold-water school aquaria, and their breeding is simple. Some experiments and observations in an aquarium, inspired by cited literature sources, are presented in this contribution.
keywords
water bugs, Notonectidae, Pleidae, Corixidae, Naucoridae, Aphelocheiridae, school aquarium, rearing, observations
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