|
The tips of wings of water bugs Are neatly crossed, and so It isn't very hard when you Look down on one to know You haven't found a beetle. They Are both called insects, though.
SOME people call all insects "bugs." Beetles are insects, but they are not bugs. A caddis worm is an insect, but it is not a bug. Mayflies, stoneflies, dragonflies, and damselflies are not bugs, although they are all insects.
A water bug is an insect, because it has a head, a thorax, an abdomen, six legs, and an exoskeleton. It differs from other water insects in that it has a jointed beak through which it sucks juices. Also you can usually
tell the difference between an adult bug and an adult beetle by looking at their wings. A beetle's wings meet in a straight line down his back. If you look closely at a bug, you will see that the tips of his wings are crossed. A beetle egg becomes a larva, and then a pupa, before it develops into an adult, but eggs of bugs develop into nymphs which look much like their parents..
GIANT WATER BUGS
There are many different water bugs, just as there are many water beetles. One giant water bug is nearly two and one-half inches long. Be careful when you catch him, for he has a large beak which he will not hesitate to jab into your finger. His mouth-parts fit together to form a tube through which he sucks his food. He is such a large insect, and his beak is so powerful, that he is not afraid to attack animals much larger than himself. Even a frog is not safe when this bug is near. With his front pair of legs, the Giant Water Bug can hold his victim
while he kills and eats it. In the photograph which illustrates this chapter, you can see how his powerful hind legs are broadened and flattened to aid him in swimming.
This bug does not always stay in the same pond. Sometimes he flies away in search of another pool where he may be able to find more food. Electric lights attract him at night, and you will often find him some distance from the water..
The female of one Giant Water Bug lays her eggs in the stems of plants above the water. You can often find them there. They are larger than the eggs of many insects. Each egg is fastened to the plant at one end, and has a dark, striped covering which serves as a shell to protect it. Dozens of them are laid close together in one place. They seem to be arranged in rows..
|
