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HEMIPTERA,
Ochteridae.-- <Images>
& <Juveniles> Please
refer also to the following links for details on this group: Ochteridae = Link 1 Introduction
These are the
velvety shore bugs. They derive their
name from a velvety appearance. There are
about 26 identified species. They are egg-shaped and 3-5.5 mm.
long. They occur along the banks of
streams and ponds and also in sandy or muddy places near to shallow
water.. Their color is blue or black,
and they are are all considered predaceous.
Clausen (1940) noted that they are littoral in habit and feed on
insects and other small animals around the muddy margins of ponds and
streams. The following detailed descriptions are
derived from Andersen & Weir (2004): Morphology The body is
small, ovoid, moderately dorsoventrally flattened, typically darkish in color
with pale markings and a soft velvety dorsum. The head is declivent and lacks
a cephalic trichobothria. Eyes are large and reniform, occupying much of the
dorsal aspect of the head; two ocelli are present. Antennae have 4 segments and are visible from above, with short
first and second segments 1 and 2 short.
The rostrum is slender, 4-segmented, usually reaching beyond the
metacoxae. The pronotum is
subtrapezoidal, with lateral explanate margins and posterior emarginate
margins. The forewing is
differentiated into a corium, clavus, and a membrane with large cells. Metathoracic scent glands are present but
nymphs lack dorsal abdominal glands.
The legs are slender and adapted for running. The fore and mid tarsi have 2-segments,
hind tarsi 3-segments. The length
averages 3.4 mm up to 9.8 mm Instream habitat:
Ochteridae species are semi-aquatic bugs that occur in the littoral areas of
quiet waters, especially mudflats and sandbars, in association with riparian
vegetation. Ochterid bugs are particularly vulnerable to habitat disturbance.
Behavior &
Life History
= = = = = = = = = = = = References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references
may be found at: MELVYL
Library] Andersen, N. M.
& T. A.Weir. 2004, Cassis & Gross 1995, Lansbury & Lake 2002 Carver,
M., Gross, G.F. & Woodward, T.E. 1991. Hemiptera (bugs, leafhoppers,
cicadas, aphids, scale insects, etc.). In: The Insects of Australia - a
Textbook for Students and Research Workers Volume 1. Melbourne University
Press, Melbourne. |