Water bugs are inhabitants of quiet bodies of water with standing or slowly moving water. flowing water. They live all over the world. Predators hunt weaker insects with which they live next to. Some fly well, others only swim and crawl. All have a chitinous cover.
Why are they needed?
Water bugs regulate the prevalence of individual small insects. Most inhabitants of mid-latitudes hunt mosquito larvae, reducing their population. Aquatic “hunters” are most active in the summer and spend most of their time in the water.
They reproduce by eggs, which become larvae, then nymphs (young individuals), and adult insects. For summer season their population increases hundreds of times. Water bugs are prey for larger individuals, birds, and fish. Some spend the winter falling into suspended animation.
All aquatic representatives are considered safe for humans and do not attack. If disturbed, they may bite. The bite of any bug is painful; it’s not for nothing that some of their species are called “water wasps.” The bite is accompanied by the introduction of protein structures - digestive enzymes. For this reason, the wound on the skin where the bite was taken does not heal for a long time.
Such different quantities, behavior
Water bugs range in size from a few millimeters to 15-17 cm. The largest individuals of water bugs live in tropical conditions. There are several types of them:
- water striders;
- smoothysh (smooth bug);
- rowers;
- giant (belostoma).
Let's consider the behavior of these representatives.
The water strider is a bug with about 700 representatives different sizes, forms. It looks like a wingless dragonfly, a little more than a centimeter in size, which has mastered the expanse of water. Some water striders can fly and move to find new habitats and wintering grounds. They feed on small larvae of other insects; they themselves can be victims of larger bugs and birds. The largest representatives of water striders live in the tropics, their bite is noticeable, and there is a danger of an allergic reaction to the bite.
The smoothie bug lives up to its name with its interesting appearance. He has smooth surface torso. It’s even more interesting to watch when the smooth bug is hunting. It turns over on its back in the water and watches its prey at the surface of the reservoir. It attacks larvae, curious fry, darting around the very surface of the water. It bites its victim, sucks out its entrails; the bite is not dangerous for humans.
It can live not only in bodies of water, among which it prefers ponds and lakes. Gladysh can be found in a garden barrel next to a person. With the help of its proboscis and limbs it makes interesting sounds, similar to the chirping of a grasshopper. It is believed that the smoothie is safe, but if you take it with your hands, it will bite painfully. It’s not for nothing that they call it the “water bee.” The danger of a bite is the possibility of developing allergies and suppuration of the wound.
The greblyak is a water bug, similar to the smooth one, but swims with its back up. The rower moves much more energetically due to its long legs, which it swings like oars. The greblyak can fly, likes to change hunting places in dark time days.
The peculiarity of this behavior is that it can often be seen near human habitation, the rower flies towards the light. While hunting in water, the paddlefish replenishes its supply of oxygen through a breathing tube located in the front of the body. This distinguishes it from the smoothie, which “breathes” through a tube in the tail of the body. The comb attacks larvae and fry of fish, itself measuring up to 17 mm.
Its bite is accompanied by the injection of enzymes into the larva, which it firmly holds with its front paws. Like all water bugs, the paddlefish feeds on the digested contents of its prey. The paddlefish itself is a frequent prey for birds, its larger relatives. The danger to humans is similar to smoothie.
A giant water bug of a terrifying name and species. The largest insect in the world, reaches a length of 15-17 cm. Most representatives of this species are inhabitants northern regions Africa, South America. There are subspecies living in the Far East that spend the winter on stumps and animal burrows, hibernating.
He needs much more food than his other “brothers”. It attacks living creatures around it and can fly. The victims of such a giant are large inhabitants of reservoirs:
- frogs;
- lizards;
- turtles.
His behavior is interesting because of what he publishes bad smell. Having noticed a person, he freezes and does not move. May bite if handled. Selects bite sites on fingers and toes. Wounds after bites do not heal for a long time, are very painful, and are dangerous due to suppuration.
One can note the unusual attitude towards the offspring of this giant. The female lays eggs on the male's back successively for almost a month. “Dad” carries the precious cargo for two weeks, resembling a hedgehog in appearance, and takes care of the offspring. Among the Japanese, the white bug is a symbol of fatherly love.
Water bugs are a heterogeneous group of insects in size and behavior. They live close to humans. The danger of these insects is limited to bites that cause allergies and suppuration of wounds.
Smooth water bugs reach a length of 15 cm - this is one of the largest bugs. The bug's body is streamlined, looks like a keelboat, and is ideally suited for movement in water. The body consists of three parts: head, chest, abdomen. The elytra are convex, sloping, shaped like the roof of a house. The abdomen, on the contrary, is flat. Body color is green, brown, brown-green, light brown. Sometimes the color of the body may change depending on the color of the bottom. In addition, the body color of smooth water bugs is aimed at protecting them from predatory animals. Since insects swim with their backs down, the light coloring of the elytra makes them less noticeable against the sky. At the same time, the dark coloring of the abdominal part makes them invisible against the background of the bottom of the reservoir.
On the head there is one pair of red eyes (see photo) and two sensitive antennas. The mouthparts are of the piercing-sucking type (like all bugs), and have the appearance of a proboscis. Three pairs of legs extend from the thoracic region. The first two pairs are adapted for holding insects on underwater objects (plants, stones) and for holding prey. Moreover, the last pair is adapted for better movement in water. These are the so-called “rowing legs”, they are more powerful than the others and are covered with small short bristles. The abdomen makes up the largest part of the entire body of the bug and consists of 7 segments. There are keeled elytra on top, and the abdomen is flat below. The elytra are capable of holding air, so they look silvery under water.
Notonecta glauca – common smoothie
Lifestyle of bedbugs
They live in fresh water bodies with calm currents and muddy bottoms. The smoothie spends most of its life on water surface. The back swimming legs are designed so that the bug can use the surface tension of water and not sink. Typically, the back of the smoothie bug's body is raised above the water higher than its head. This is due to the location of the breathing tubes, the openings of which are located on the back of the abdomen. But, if a threat arises, the insect is able to suddenly go to depth, however, this will require significant effort from it. When diving under water, the openings of the breathing tubes are closed with special hairs. The smoothie bug can stay under water for only 7-8 minutes. It moves poorly on land, but can make small jumps.
Smooth bugs are well adapted for flight, thanks to a pair of membranous wings. Insects fly mainly at night. Thus, they move to new bodies of water. IN winter time bedbugs leave their usual habitat and hibernate, climbing under the bark of trees, in moss, and dry leaves.
The smoothie bug lifts the back of its abdomen above the surface of the water to provide air access to the breathing tubes
Feeding features of smoothies
According to their feeding method, bedbugs are predators. They feed on small aquatic insects or insects that have fallen into the water. Gladyshi also eat fish fry. Seeing prey in the water column, the bug rushes towards it and grabs it with its front legs. While holding the victim, the smoothie bug pierces it with its proboscis and introduces a digestive enzyme into the tissue, which digests the tissue and internal organs. The bug then sucks up the resulting mass.
Cases of cannibalism have been reported among smoothie bugs. These insects attacked young representatives of their species. They can also attack bugs of other families, for example, bedbugs.
Important! The mouthparts of the smoothie bug are adapted to pierce human skin. If enzyme gets into the wound, it will cause pain. Smooth bugs are capable of biting people while swimming, for which they are nicknamed “water wasps” (from German: Wasserbiene).
Common types of bedbugs
- Notonecta glauca – common smoothie
- Notonecta lutea – muddy smoothie
- Notonecta reuteri – Reuter's smoothie
- Notonecta ampliphica – expanded smoothie
- Notonecta viridis – green smoothie
- Notonecta maculata – motley smoothie
Notonecta maculata – motley smoothie
Notonecta viridis – green smoothie
Reproduction of bedbugs
Smooth bugs are insects with an incomplete type of transformation, i.e. includes two stages - the larva (an insect hatched from an egg) and the adult ( adult insect). Fertilized females lay eggs on the leaves of underwater plants or on the bottom, trying to hide them more reliably. Eggs light yellow color, the oviposition has the shape of a circle. The larvae are born after two weeks, in warm water the ripening process occurs faster. The hatched larvae are similar in every way to adult insects, lead a predatory lifestyle, but do not have wings. They go through 4 molts before becoming an adult insect.
Did you know? Adult males have a device designed to attract females - the so-called musical apparatus. Males scratch their proboscis with their front paws. The sounds produced are similar to the chirping of a grasshopper.
Smooth bug capturing prey
The role of smoothie bugs in wildlife
Since smoothie bugs feed on fish fry, they can harm fisheries by eating the larvae valuable species fish But, in most cases, smoothies themselves become food for other larger animals - fish and waterfowl, despite their camouflage coloring.
There is information about the important role of smoothie bugs in the destruction of blood-sucking insects. It has been established that smoothies readily feed on mosquito larvae and pupae, which significantly reduces their numbers.
Video: what the smooth bug looks like
Good to know:
Some representatives of the order of bedbugs are very peculiar. They are different large sizes, predatory lifestyle and ability to live in an aquatic environment.
You've all heard about bedbugs and you know that some of them smell terrible, while others eat human blood, How bed bug. This is true. What do you say when you find out that water bugs also live in the world? True, they won’t crawl into your bed. But while swimming they can accidentally bite.
Appearance of bedbugs, features of their feeding and reproduction
These amazing representatives of aquatic fauna prefer standing reservoirs and ponds for living. They spend their entire lives in the water, only going ashore during the winter.
In appearance, these insects are strikingly different from each other: the smoothies in their shape resemble small boats, while, for example, the ranatra appears to be a small stick, which allows it to camouflage well. The sizes of all water bugs are also strikingly different: from 1 to 15 centimeters.
Underwater insects reproduce in almost the same way, laying eggs in the stems of underwater plants. The exception is the Belostoma bugs, which carry their offspring on their backs. And only males do this! The female lays her partner on her back, and then he carefully monitors the safety of the future offspring.
Bed bugs feed on everything they find in the depths of the water. These can be plants and various representatives of aquatic fauna: tadpoles, fish fry, various larvae and insects. Belostoma is not afraid to attack small snakes and small turtles.
Types of water bugs
There are many varieties of water bugs. And they are all different from each other. Let's look at some of them.
This representative of water bugs is perfectly adapted to life underwater thanks to its streamlined body, similar to a boat. The function of oars is performed by elongated hind legs with brushes consisting of tiny bristles. The body of a bug is lighter than water, so it can calmly hang at the surface of the water with its belly up. His eyes are directed towards the bottom. So he looks out for prey, which can be smaller insects, his own brothers and even fish fry. The color of the smoothie's wings is light - it allows it to camouflage itself from fish, and its abdomen is black - thanks to this, birds cannot see it
Its main weapon is a sharp proboscis, which is pressed to the body when at rest. This proboscis stings very painfully, which is why the smoothie is also called the “water wasp.” When the smoothie is calm, you can see how it breathes: the insect exposes the tip of its abdomen to the surface - the breathing hole is located there. It breathes air, and when it dives, its body is enveloped in a silver bubble, because of which the bug appears smooth, which is why the smooth bug got its name.
This bug is significantly smaller than the smooth one. Its size is about 9 mm. The insect swims as it should - with its back up, and stores air under its wings, so it may not float to the surface for quite a long time, like a scuba diver. Typically, the paddlefish sits with its middle pair of legs clinging to underwater plants or snags. 
The back legs of the bug look like small oars, which is how the bug got its name
Its prey is very small insects or their larvae. He himself, in turn, can become a victim of a larger and stronger smoothie. The paddlefish, like the smoothie, has wings. So if the conditions in a pond or reservoir change to become unsuitable for life, then the bugs can easily fly away and find a new “home”.
Like a real speed skater, the water strider has mastered the art of gliding across the water. The tips of the legs are shaped like oars. The insect rows with its front legs and directs its movement with its hind legs. A water strider, one centimeter long, can move at a speed of one meter per second. It would seem that water striders should sink because the water is less dense. However, they manage to stay on the surface thanks to small hairs covering the body and legs of the insect. Each hair is covered with water-repellent wax. They trap air, and a “cushion” forms on the surface of the water. When the feet press down on the water, the bubble provides resistance, which allows the water strider to glide through the water.
The water strider spends almost all its time on the surface of the water. But ease and small size should not be misleading: the water strider is an experienced predator. With its front paws it detects the movement of an insect in the water. After the prey is captured, the water strider injects a mixture of enzymes into it that dissolves the prey's insides. Then she eats a nutritious "meal".
I first became acquainted with a water strider when I was about nine years old. I remember then my father took me fishing with him. When we came to the lake, the first thing I noticed were black dots flickering across the surface of the lake. Having looked closely, I was very surprised: “Dad, can mosquitoes run on water?” The father laughed for a long time, and then answered: “These are not mosquitoes, but water striders. And they glide through the water because their paws are lubricated with a greasy compound that repels water and prevents them from drowning.” I took a closer look. Indeed, they are very similar to mosquitoes, but still different. Water striders were more dark color. I tried to catch it: it doesn’t work! It seems like the water strider is standing still, but you stretch out your hand and it’s gone! Then I gave up trying to catch the fidgety insects and began to watch them. And I thought: why were they called water striders? After watching for some time, I understood why: they move like on a ruler, in segments. That is, they measure the water! Hence the name - water striders.
The swimmer's front legs are grasping. Thanks to them, it stays better in underwater thickets. At the same time, such tenacious limbs can be used for hunting. This bug differs from its counterparts in its shape: it is round, its size is 1 cm, and its body resembles armor, where all the parts fit together. 
The eyes of the float are larger than those of other bugs
If you look at it from below, you can see that under water it actually turns silver - these are the glistening air bubbles that thick hairs hold near the insect’s body. The floating air breathes this air. Underwater, he regularly adjusts his air-haired “outfit” with his paws. Complex facet organs of vision help it track prey. And a sharp proboscis dagger is always at the ready.
It has nothing to do with real scorpions. This is also a bug. It was just living underwater and hunting from ambush that made it so unusual. The long process at the end of the body is not a sting, like a scorpion’s, but a breathing tube. It consists of two movable halves. With its help, the “scorpion” pumps air into the cavity of its body. The back of the abdomen is designed like the side of a cargo plane. True, “spent” and oxygen-depleted air comes out through the “hatch”. 
The color of the “scorpion” is brown, but in daylight it becomes light brown, which allows the bug to camouflage perfectly
The swimmer from the water “scorpion” is not at all. So most often it can be found in overgrown reservoirs, where it guards its prey. The front limbs of this bug resemble folding knives: the lower leg fits perfectly into the special groove of the thigh. The “scorpion” has good vision, and as soon as it sees the victim, it immediately begins to creep up on it.
The ranatra, like the water scorpion, swims reluctantly. Its size is quite large - about 5 cm. Usually it sits motionless on aquatic plants and waits for prey, and then grabs it with its front legs, where there are special outgrowths that help hold the prey. The ranatra breathes through a breathing tube, which is located at the end of the abdomen. 
The shape of the ranatra is unusual, it resembles a stick
This is the largest representative of bedbugs in the world. Its body length reaches 15 cm! These giants live in tropical countries. As a rule, they can be encountered in freshwater bodies. Adults cannot breathe underwater, so they often rise to the surface to take a breath of air. Their respiratory organs are tubes located at the end of the abdomen. Belostoma is a real predator. Its prey includes fish fry, tadpoles, insects and small amphibians. 
The front legs of the belostoma are very powerful - with their help the bug firmly grasps its prey
This bug waits for its victim, being motionless and attached to a stone or underwater plant. When prey swims very close, the white stoma grabs it with its front legs and pulls it towards itself. Then, with the help of a proboscis, it injects saliva into the body of the prey, which has a paralyzing effect, which quickly liquefies the insides. After this, the bug sucks out its prey. This insect can fly, but does so when it changes its habitat, or when it is attracted by the light of lanterns. These bugs often bite people on the legs solely for the purpose of self-defense. The bite is very painful, but does no harm.
Video "Giant Water Bug"
Are water bugs dangerous to humans?
Although these insects bite painfully, and the sensation after the bite is unpleasant, they do not cause harm to human health. And they attack solely for the purpose of self-defense. And if they do harm, it is only to farms where fish fry are bred. As you remember, some representatives of water bugs are not averse to eating food that is tasty for them.
We saw how different water bugs can be. These insects are united by the hunting instinct. After all, they are all predators. Some hunt from ambush, some tirelessly cut through the aquatic environment in search of prey. Many are masters of camouflage and simply don’t catch your eye. The appearance of most is creepy, but they pose no danger to humans. But it’s a pleasure to watch their behavior.
In almost all bodies of water in which there is no active current, you can find unique insects leading a very active lifestyle. These are water bugs related to predatory insects. Most of their life is spent in water. There they are born, live and hunt, and breed.
The four most common families in the world are:
- water strider;
- smoothie;
- rower;
- belostoma.
Each of these types has its own unique characteristics.
Water strider bug
Water striders stand out among their group in their mode of movement and hunting. These insects do not dive into the depths of water, but spend active period of your life on its surface.
The body shape of water striders is thin and highly elongated. Like all insects, it has three pairs of legs. The two rear pairs of legs are adapted for moving on the surface of the water. Light insect weight and large area the supports do not allow breaking through the surface tension film of the liquid. Pushing off the surface with its feet, the water strider glides through the water. The front paws are used to hold food. The water strider feeds on floating microscopic inhabitants of the reservoir and other insects that fall into the water. Food is not found very often, so water striders have to move around a lot in search of food.
Hidden under the hard elytra are transparent wings, which water striders use very reluctantly. Flights occur only when unfavorable conditions in their native reservoir and over short distances. Once on land, the water strider does not stop moving, but only slows down significantly.
Smooth water bug
This insect has a boat-like body. The way it moves is original and further enhances its resemblance to this ship. When immersed in water, the smoothie turns over with its belly up and begins to work hard with its hind paws-oars. At the same time, huge eyes allow you to observe top layers water in search of prey. Noticing the victim, the smoothie rushes headlong at it. The main diet of smoothies consists of small underwater animals and their larvae.
The air film, which adheres to the hairs that densely cover the entire body, helps the smoothie stay under water for a long time. The smooth fish receives the necessary supply of air by floating to the surface and exposing the back of its body to the atmosphere.
The wings of the smoothie are highly developed and allow it to make long flights. He often uses this in search of water bodies richer in food. Gladfish can live not only in large ponds, but also in small puddles and even in barrels of water. If there is not enough prey, the bug leaves the hunting grounds and looks for a new place. Prefers to travel at night.
From a distance, the paddlefish can be mistaken for a smoothfish due to its swimming method. The locomotor system of the rower consists of two powerful legs ending in large area of hair-cilia. However, he prefers to move in the usual manner - with his back up. To replenish the supply of air, it floats to the surface and accumulates atmosphere under the elytra. A large air bubble pushes the body upward, and it has to be held on by the leaves and stems of aquatic plants to prevent it from floating up.
The paddlefish is similar to its terrestrial relatives in the presence of scent glands. The secretions from them scare off potential enemies. At the same time, the smell helps to attract individuals of the opposite sex.
The peculiarity of the rower is that it also “sings”. The sound is made by rubbing the front paws on the proboscis. In nature, people can very rarely hear a rowing sound, since the sound strength is very small, and it also comes from under the water. Some people keep these bugs in aquariums with fish, and in the silence of the apartment you can hear the quiet “voice” of the bug.
The name itself speaks volumes about the size of the insect. If most of its relatives have a body length of 1-2 cm, then Belostoma grows into a 10-centimeter giant. For life, he prefers to choose shallow reservoirs with very warm water. Therefore, belostomas (swordsworts) are widespread, mainly in the tropics. Although there are species that have adapted to more low temperatures, and settled Far East.
Belostoma is nocturnal. It attacks its prey from ambush, infecting it with a nerve agent. Careless frogs, small fish and miniature turtles become victims of the predator. He attacks fauna not only smaller than himself, he is not afraid to choose larger specimens as victims. In some countries he even received the nickname “fish killer”.
The strongly developed front legs are equipped with large hooks that help to hold caught prey. The shape of the “combat” limbs resembles the claw of crabs or, rather, the front legs of a praying mantis. Like the others, it has wings, but flies only when necessary.
Lifestyle and habitat of water bugs
Most orders of water bugs, except water striders, chose the depths of water bodies as their habitat. However, evolution did not provide them with organs capable of absorbing oxygen directly from water. Therefore, insects have to periodically float to the surface to breathe and replenish supplies in the air sacs.
The vast majority of these insects live in fresh water bodies, although there are species that have adapted to life in salt water. sea water.
What do water bugs eat?
Small species They hunt animals even smaller than themselves, swim quickly and lead a very active lifestyle. Large insects, like belostomy, prefer to watch for prey while in shelter.
The feeding apparatus of bedbugs is piercing-suction, so they are not able to eat solid food or swallow prey. The diet of water bugs is varied. Everything is determined by the size of the potential production. Many species inject poison into the body of the victim, slowing down movements or completely paralyzing it. Having grabbed the prey with its paws, the predator pierces its body with its proboscis and sucks out the nutritious fluids from it.
Insects, their larvae, fish and amphibian eggs are eaten. Being predators, bedbugs often engage in fights over prey, and in a poor environment they are able to devour their fellow tribesmen.
Reproduction of water bugs and care of offspring
Water bugs reproduce by eggs. Significant differences are observed in the masonry methods. The female smoothmouth lays eggs in the thickness of plant stems, while the smoothmouth lays a clutch of eggs on the surface of algae leaves and other objects under water.
The belostoma bug does not leave its offspring unattended. The female lays eggs on the male's back, filling its entire surface. He walks and swims with eggs on his back. Until the larvae hatch, all the male’s activities are aimed at caring for the offspring. He chooses the optimal temperature regime for eggs, ensures water circulation around the clutch, protects from other predators. It is noteworthy that during the period of maturation of the eggs, the Belostoma almost does not take food, therefore, after hatching the larvae, it often dies.
In their life, aquatic insects go through three stages: egg, larva, and adult. The hatched larvae are very similar to adult insects, differing in their smaller size. Before turning into a full-fledged individual, the larvae must go through several molts.
Is the water bug dangerous for humans?
There is no immediate danger to humans. Due to the huge difference in size, insects living in water do not consider humans as prey. All the usual victims have different sizes and habitats.
Waterbugs should not be considered completely harmless insects. In case of danger, the insect bites. For this, for example, the smoothie received the nickname water bee in Germany ( water wasp). In most cases, the bug simply pretends to be dead. The water scorpion reacts in the same way; if you don’t touch it, then there’s nothing to be afraid of.
The danger of a waterbug bite and its consequences
The piercing apparatus of bedbugs is very sharp; they are quite capable of biting through human skin. Bite European species insects, although accompanied by the injection of poison, does not carry significant harm to the human body. A small red spot forms on the skin at the site of the bite. As a treatment, it is enough to anoint the affected area with iodine.
The greatest danger to humans comes from tropical bedbugs; their poison is much stronger. In rare cases it occurs allergic reaction. Marks on the skin remain visible for a week. The long sting penetrates deep into the body and the pain can be felt for tens of minutes. No deaths were reported. To avoid being bitten, you should not touch such a cute “bug”.
The word “bug” is usually associated with a household pest and only evokes unpleasant emotions. However, in nature there are many insects called bedbugs. Some even live in water, for example, smoothie.
Description of smoothies
Smoothies are the name given to large bugs that live in fresh water. They are classified as a separate genus, belonging to the Gladysh family: in total, it includes more than three hundred species, and seven live on the territory of Russia. Gladys resemble other water bugs - belostoma, but are much smaller - 1.5 cm compared to 15 cm. In the Eurasian region, these bugs are distributed everywhere and live in stagnant bodies of water, they can also live in puddles and even in barrels of water. Types of smoothies differ by region of habitat, color and size (7–18 mm)
The smoothie's body is divided into head, chest and abdomen. In general, it resembles a boat: this shape allows the insect to move easily in the water. The name of the bug speaks about its appearance - the body of the bug is smooth, which gives it additional streamlining and promotes better swimming. There is also a device for swimming: the rear pair of limbs of the insect (the bug has three such pairs in total) resembles the structure of oars, thanks to which the bug cuts through the water. The smoothie floats on its back; With high altitude it can be mistaken for a plant leaf. These bugs breathe air, and the respiratory organ is located at the back end of their abdomen, so they spend most of their time with this part of their body out of the water.
The color of smoothies is varied - they are usually greenish-brown, although yellow and pink shades are also found. Depending on the body of water in which the bug lives, the color may change: smoothies, like many animals, can adapt appearance to the habitat. The abdomen of the bug is darker than the back (elytra), on which there are various geometric patterns that give it a smooth appearance. attractive appearance. Reddish eyes are visible on the insect's head.
Reproduction and development
The smooth bug is an insect with incomplete metamorphosis. Its development includes three stages
- Egg. At the beginning of spring, the female mates with the male, after which she lays up to 200 yellow eggs on the lower part of aquatic plants.
- Larva. After about two weeks, the eggs hatch into larvae. They look like adult insects, but are wingless and light green in color. During the summer, three molts occur, with each one the structure of the young bug changes slightly - in the last molt, the rudiments of wings already appear.
- Imago. By August, the bug molts for the fourth time and becomes an adult insect. Its development ends here, but the chitinous cover hardens and acquires its final color only after some time.
Smooth bug larvae resemble adult bedbugs in structure, but are much lighter in color and do not have wings Complete metamorphosis in insects consists of four stages of development, including egg, larva, nymph (caterpillar) and adult.
Feeding smoothies
Smoothies are predators. They hunt for other aquatic insects, and sometimes for fish fry or frogs. Smoothies also exhibit cannibalism; they can eat younger relatives.
Swimming upside down, it is convenient for the insect to observe the surface of the reservoir; As soon as the smoothie notices prey, a sharp attacking jerk follows. Its mouthparts are characteristic of bedbugs, piercing-sucking, which indicates its feeding method: the prey is pierced by the proboscis. then, softened under the influence of the bug's digestive enzymes, it is sucked out. If a smoothfish bites a large fish, it may remain alive, but this will have a very adverse effect on its health.
By the way, these bugs fly well and, if a residential building is located close to a pond, they can thus get into the aquarium and harm the fish.
As far as is known, smoothies feed exclusively on animal food Birds and large fish - natural enemies smoothies: they can eat water bugs.
Danger to humans
Smoothie is safe for people if you do not touch it. Adults are rarely bitten by these bugs, as they do not attack large creatures. You can only be attacked by accidentally hitting it in the water. But children are bitten by the water bug more often, since they often want to catch the beautiful insect in their palms.
Find out more about the waterbug bite from our article -
It is impossible not to notice the attack of the smoothie, as it is accompanied by sharp pain. Soon the bitten area swells. As first aid, you can apply cold to the bitten area or burn it with brilliant green. There are no terrible consequences for a smoothie bite, and on average, after a week there will be no trace left of it. However, any person, especially those prone to allergies, can develop an individual allergic reaction, just like to a wasp or bee sting. If you have already been allergic to insect bites, it is advisable to take an antiallergic drug. If, after a bite, difficulty breathing, dizziness, loss of consciousness and other similar symptoms appear, you should immediately consult a doctor. However, it is worth noting that there is no data on deaths as a result of Gladysh attacks. 
A sharp pain when bitten by a smoothie is felt not because of the bite itself, since the bug’s proboscis is very small, but because of the insect’s caustic saliva getting into the wound
Because of their painful bites, smoothies are also called “water wasps” or “water bees.”
If a water bug somehow gets into the aquarium, it must be removed immediately before the fish are harmed. Although some people even keep smoothies in separate aquariums, admiring their unique beauty.
The role of smoothies in nature
Unlike home water areas, there is no need to specifically destroy water bugs in natural bodies of water. These insects, like all living beings, perform important functions. For example, smoothies regulate the number of mosquitoes - one bug can eat up to a hundred mosquito larvae in a day. The fact that water bugs eat fish fry cannot be considered harmful, unless this happens in fish farms. Smoothies participate in the food chain, themselves being food for larger animals. Thus, water bugs are an indispensable link in the ecosystem of a particular reservoir and the entire living world as a whole.
Scullers spend most of their time on their backs, with their rowing legs spread out to the sides For people, there is also a unique benefit of the water bug as a food product. In Asian cuisine it is considered a delicacy, and in Mexico they eat smoothie eggs.
Water bugs have a number of features:
- Male smoothies can make sounds reminiscent of the chirping of a grasshopper. To do this, they scrape their proboscis with their front paws.
- Gladysh winter not in reservoirs, but in a layer of forest litter, under tree bark and similar places.
- The old chitinous cover remaining after molting is very similar to a living insect.
- Smoothies migrate mainly at night, flying to other places. They are very attracted to bright light.
Gladysh is a beautiful and almost harmless water bug. To avoid its bite, you just need to avoid touching the insect. You only need to get rid of the smoothie when a bug gets into an aquarium or fish farm; in other cases, you should not offend a unique representative of the living world.