Abstract
The water scorpion Ranatra pittieri was observed preying on an adult of the water strider Eurygerris flavolineatus in a closed laboratory system. This is the first report for the Neotropics of the predation by a member of the infraorder Nepomorpha on a species of Gerromorpha.KEYWORDWaterscorpions, Heteroptera, Gerridae, Nepomorpha, Costa Rica, Central America
Highlights
The family Nepidae belongs to the infraorder Nepomorpha and is a cosmopolitan family represented in all biogeographical regions except the polar regions
Nepids can prey on some terrestrial invertebrates that fall on the water surface, small fishes, fish eggs, young tadpoles, dipteran larvae such as Chironomus, amphipods (Hyallela), cladocerans (Daphnia), ostracods, copepods and other Nepomorpha such as Notonecta and Anisops (Holmes, 1905; Cloarec, 1974; Bailey, 1986; Runck & Blinn, 1990)
The female R. pittieri was kept in the aquarium with a female E. flavolineatus; both were adults and collected in Costa Rica, Guanacaste, La Cruz, La Cruz District (200masl) from the same small pond
Summary
The family Nepidae belongs to the infraorder Nepomorpha and is a cosmopolitan family represented in all biogeographical regions except the polar regions. For the Neotropical region, 93 species are recorded in four genera (Polhemus & Polhemus, 2008). They are relatively slowmoving and are often observed among submerged plants where they remain on the lookout for prey, almost motionless with their respiratory appendages or siphons in contact with the water surface.
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