As most of you know, I'm currently engaged in assembling an insect collection for my entomology course. Yes this is a required assignment, but I also find much joy in collecting, labeling, and identifying insects. Recently I did a "field guide" on the brown water scorpion. They are pretty sweet bugs that seem to climb through the water instead of swim. As a kid I liked to pick them up out of the water, and I still do, however I handle them with care as they have a pretty potent bite! Here's the paper:
Ranatra fusca
By: Matthew Otis
Description:
Ranatra fusca belongs to the order Hemiptera, family Nepidae. Its common name is the brown water scorpion.
Morphology:
The majority of water scorpions in the U.S., including Ranatra fusca, are long, slender, aquatic insects that superficially resemble walking sticks. Water scorpions; however, are predatory and have raptorial front legs for grasping prey. The “scorpion” description in their name comes from their elongated caudal breathing tube which extends from the back of the abdomen like a tail. Like all hemipterans, the water scorpion has piercing/sucking mouthparts.
Distribution/Habitat:
The range of the brown water scorpion, Ranatra fusca, nearly covers the U.S. and even extends northward into Canada. Water scorpions are aquatic and are rarely found far from water. They can be found swimming or resting on aquatic vegetation near the shore of slow moving bodies of fresh water.
Life Cycle:
Water scorpions have incomplete metamorphosis, meaning that the juvenile or nymph stages resemble the adult, but are smaller. However, they gain their wings after their last shed, or in their final instar.
Predation/Eating:
Water scorpions have piercing/sucking mouthparts, which looks a short spear-like appendage, commonly referred to as a beak. They grasp their prey with their raptorial front legs, impale them with their beak, and then inject digestive fluids. After their prey dies they suck out the liquefied insides of their prey item. They mainly feed on aquatic invertebrates, but also eat tadpoles and minnows.
Interesting Fact:
Water scorpions can inflict a painful, but not medically serious, bite if you are not careful!
Bibliography:
Triplehorn, C. A., & Johnson, N. J. (2005). Borror and DeLong’s Introduction to the Study of Insects. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole
pg. 289
