Nepa (bug) explained

Nepa is a genus belonging to the family Nepidae, known as water scorpions. There are six species found in freshwater habitats in the Northern Hemisphere.^{[1] [2]}

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.^[3]

Etymology

'Nepa' is a classical Latin word for a 'scorpion' or 'crab'.^[4]

Species

The following species are included in Nepa:^{[1] [2] [5] [6]}

• Nepa anophthalma Decu et al., 1994 (see Movile Cave)
• Nepa apiculata Uhler, 1862
• Nepa cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 - type species
• Nepa dollfusi Esaki, 1928
• Nepa grandis Linnæus, 1758
• Nepa hoffmanni Esaki, 1925
• Nepa monteilsensis Nel, 1988
• Nepa plana Sulzer, 1776
• Nepa remyi Poisson, 1961
• Nepa rubra Linnaeus, 1758
• Nepa rustica Fabricius, 1775
• Nepa sardiniensis Hungerford, 1928
• Nepa seurati Bergevin, 1926

Among these, N. apiculata of eastern North American (Canada and United States), and N. cinerea of Europe, northern Africa and northern Asia, are widespread.^{[1] [3]} The remaining have restricted ranges in Corsica, Sardinia, Romania, Morocco and northeastern Asia.^{[1] [2]} One of these, N. anophthalma, is the only cave-adapted species in the family Nepidae, found in Movile Cave.^[2]

Linnaeus listed a number of additional species in his description of the genus, most of which either are considered synonyms or have been moved to other genera.

External links

• • • Nepa on bugguide.net

Notes and References

1. S.L. Keffer . J.T. Polhemus . J.E. McPherson . 1990 . What Is Nepa hoffmanni (Heteroptera: Nepidae)? Male Genitalia Hold the Answer, and Delimit Species Groups . Journal of the New York Entomological Society . 98 . 2 . 154–162 .
2. Vasile Decu . Magdalena Gruia . S. L. Keffer . Serban Mircea Sarbu . 1994 . Stygobiotic Waterscorpion, Nepa anophthalma, n. sp. (Heteroptera: Nepidae), from a Sulfurous Cave in Romania . Annals of the Entomological Society of America . 87 . 6 . 755–761 . 10.1093/aesa/87.6.755 .
3. Book: Donald Borror. Richard White. A field guide to the insects of America north of Mexico. registration. 1970. Houghton Mifflin. 978-0-395-07436-7. 114.
4. http://www.latin-dictionary.net/definition/27792/nepa-nepae 'Nepa'
5. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=103765 'Nepa'
6. https://www.gbif.org/species/2007591 GBIF: Nepa Linnaeus, 1758