Little sandpiper

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Little sandpiper
Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Schnabelkerfe (Hemiptera)
Subordination : Bed bugs (heteroptera)
Partial order : Gerromorpha
Family : Little sandpiper
Scientific name
Hebridae
Amyot & Serville , 1843

The little water sandpipers (Hebridae) are a worldwide widespread family of bedbugs within the suborder Gerromorpha . There are about 220 species known in 8 genera. There are 8 species in Europe. Due to their small size and hidden way of life, they are rarely found.

features

The animals are 1.3 to 3.7 millimeters long and are among the smallest representatives of the Gerromorpha. They resemble small brooks (Veliidae). They have a strong body, usually pale brown, gray, or green in color.

With the exception of the abdomen and extremities, your body is covered by micro and macro hairs. The head is clearly drawn out over the compound eyes and bears striking praise on the ventral side . The small compound eyes are roughly faceted. In addition, the animals have two point eyes ( ocelli ). The mostly short antennae are four-part. Since the fourth link is constricted in the middle in many species, it appears as if they have five links. The third and fourth links are narrow. The second is about the same length or shorter than the first. The buccules are conspicuous and cover the first two limbs of the labium . The pronotum is constricted at the rear edge and has raised humeral angles. As a rule, it does not cover the short, inclined label ( scutellum ) and is adjacent to the triangular metanotum at the back. The thorax has a pair of longitudinal grooves between the hips ( coxes ) on the underside , which form an indentation that can accommodate the mouthparts. The legs are short and the indentations for the hips are wide apart. The tarsi are two-part, with the second segment consisting of the fused second and third of the remaining Gerromorpha. The first segment is much shorter than the second. The pretarsus is turned apically, the claws are very long and carry aroliae (adhesive pads) dorsally and ventrally. The scent gland openings on the metathorax lie on the rear half of the metasternum and have no evaporation area. The fore wings have one or two basal cells and they lack veining on the part facing away from the body (distal). Wing polymorphism is common. The abdomen is relatively long and carries scent glands in both the adults and the nymphs . The ovipositor of the females is regressed and weakly sclerotized . It is more plate-shaped than that of the Mesoveliidae . The genitals of the males are also regressed. In both sexes, the genitals are slightly in front of the end of the abdomen.

Occurrence

The family is spread almost worldwide. Their main distribution area, however, are the tropics of Asia. The bugs live on the overgrown banks of ponds or similar permanent damp habitats. It is not uncommon for them to be found deep in cushions of moss or crevices, but they can also be found on loose vegetation on steep river banks, on floating plants or in damp detritus . There are species that have very specific needs when it comes to choosing their habitat. The species of the genera Hebrometra and Timasius live z. B. on rocks in rivers or mountain streams, or on water-wetted rocks, z. B. at those near waterfalls. Few species tolerate brackish or even salt or sea water.

Way of life

The little sandpipers feed predatory or on carrion. Springtails and other arthropods are among their prey range . As far as is known, the animals lay their eggs superficially on the substrate, such as B. Mosses or algae by attaching them lengthways with a gelatinous substance.

Taxonomy and systematics

The family was placed by Reuter in 1912 together with the hip water striders (Mesoveliidae) to the superfamily Reduvioidea . Lundblad (1933) and Drake & Chapman (1958), however, recognized the relationship to the Gerromorpha. Andersen showed in 1982 that the family is monophyletic based on features of the head, mesoscutellum, pretarsus, and genitals . He suspected a sister group relationship to the Mesoveliidae.

The following subfamilies and genera are included in the family:

The following types occur in Europe; Hebrus pusillus and Hebrus ruficeps also in Central Europe.

supporting documents

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Family Hebridae. Australian Biological Resources Study. Australian Faunal Directory, accessed December 28, 2013 .
  2. ↑ a b Hebridae. Fauna Europaea, accessed December 28, 2013 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f R. T. Schuh, JA Slater: True Bugs of the World (Hemiptera: Heteroptera). Classification and Natural History. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 1995, pp. 90 ff.
  4. ↑ Nils Møller Andersen & Tom A. Weir: Mesoveliidae, Hebridae, and Hydrometridae of Australia (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerromorpha), with a reanalysis of the phylogeny of semiaquatic bugs. In: Invertebrate Systematics. 18, No. 4, 2004, pp. 467-522.
  5. ↑ Herbert Zettel: Nieserius gen.n., a New Genus of the Subfamily Hyrcaninae (Heteroptera: Hebridae) from Thailand, Laos, and Nepal, with the First Known Subaquatic Species of Gerromorpha. Aquatic Insects: International Journal of Freshwater Entomology, 1999, 21, 1, pp. 39-52.
  6. ^ Ekkehard Wachmann , Albert Melber, Jürgen Deckert: Bugs. Volume 1: Cimicomorpha: Dipsocoromorpha, Nepomorpha, Gerromorpha, Leptopodomorpha, Cimicomorpha (part 1) (=  The animal world of Germany and the adjacent sea parts according to their characteristics and according to their way of life . 77th part). Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2006, ISBN 3-931374-49-1 , p. 62 .

literature

  • RT Schuh, JA Slater: True Bugs of the World (Hemiptera: Heteroptera). Classification and Natural History. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 1995.
  • Ekkehard Wachmann , Albert Melber, Jürgen Deckert: Bugs. Volume 1: Cimicomorpha: Dipsocoromorpha, Nepomorpha, Gerromorpha, Leptopodomorpha, Cimicomorpha (part 1) (=  The animal world of Germany and the adjacent sea parts according to their characteristics and according to their way of life . 77th part). Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2006, ISBN 3-931374-49-1 .