Several families of Heteroptera are water bugs, adapted to an aquatic lifestyle, such as the water boatmen (Corixidae), water scorpions (Nepidae), and backswimmers (Notonectidae).
They are mostly predatory, and have legs adapted as paddles to help the animal move through the water.
The pondskaters or water striders (Gerridae) are also associated with water, but use the surface tension of standing water to keep them above the surface; they include the sea skaters in the genus Halobates, the only truly marine group of insects.
Several families of Heteroptera are water bugs, adapted to an aquatic lifestyle, such as the water boatmen (Corixidae), water scorpions (Nepidae), and backswimmers (Notonectidae). They are mostly predatory, and have legs adapted as paddles to help the animal move through the water. The pondskaters or water striders (Gerridae) are also associated with water, but use the surface tension of standing water to keep them above the surface; they include the sea skaters in the genus Halobates, the only truly marine group of insects.
Hemiptera