''Lethocerus deyrollei'' is a species of giant water bug (family

Belostomatidae Belostomatidae is a family of freshwater hemipteran insects known as giant water bugs or colloquially as toe-biters, Indian toe-biters, electric-light bugs (because they fly to lights in large numbers), alligator ticks, or alligator fleas (in Flo ...

) that traditionally is included in the genus ''

Lethocerus ''Lethocerus'' is a genus of the hemipteran family Belostomatidae, known colloquially as giant water bugs, toe biters and electric light bugs, distributed in tropical, subtropical and temperate areas of the world. The greatest diversity of speci ...

'', although recent authorities place it in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

''Kirkaldyia''.P. J. Perez-Goodwyn (2006). ''Taxonomic revision of the subfamily Lethocerinae Lauck & Menke (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae)". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde.'' A (Biologie) 695: 1–71. They are large ( long),

predatory Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

and

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

insects. They are one of the best known giant water bugs and are found in India, Japan, Korea, east China, east

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

, and the

Amur The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer Manchuria, Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ...

region of Russia. They are very common in much of their range, but have declined drastically in some regions and are considered threatened in JapanHirai, T.; and Hidaka, K. (2002). ''Anuran-dependent predation by the giant water bug, Lethocerus deyrollei (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae), in rice fields of Japan.'' Ecological Research 17(6): 655-661. and Korea. They live in still waters with vegetation, hatching in the summer months and then

overwintering Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activ ...

half a year later as adults. They primarily feed on small fish,

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

s and aquatic insects, but have also been recorded taking water snakes and young turtles. The

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

of this species are laid out of water, generally on vegetation. Males exhibit parental care by keeping eggs damp. This is achieved by climbing up to the egg mass and having the water drip off their bodies onto the eggs. Eggs that are not kept damp in this way fail to hatch.

Infanticide behaviour

Females of the species are known to destroy eggs guarded by males (ovicide, a form of

infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...

), which secures care for their future offspring.Ichikawa, N. (1995) Male counterstrategy against infanticide of the female giant water bug ''Lethocerus deyrollei'' (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae). ''Journal of Insect Behavior'' 8:181-186. It appears that a "counterstrategy" has evolved in males, which spend a much greater time with the eggs than is necessary to keep them wet. Most of the water is deposited on eggs within 90 seconds, but males have been reported to stay with eggs much longer than that. This is because males which stay with the egg mass cannot be detected by females. Brooding males will also attack female intruders, being successful in defending their eggs about one third of the time, though some are seriously injured in doing this.Ichikawa, N. (1991), Egg mass destroying and guarding behaviour of the giant water bug ''Lethocerus deyrollei'' Vuillefroy (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae). ''Journal of Ethology'' 9: 25-29. Males will only put up a fight as eggs are first being destroyed, and have been witnessed to abruptly cease defending their eggs and begin copulating with the encroaching female. Infanticide has also been recorded in another insect, the

burying beetle Burying beetles or sexton beetles, genus ''Nicrophorus'', are the best-known members of the family Silphidae (carrion beetles). Most of these beetles are black with red markings on the Elytron, elytra (forewings). Burying beetles are true to th ...

Nicrophorus orbicollis ''Nicrophorus orbicollis'' is a nearctic burying beetle first described by Thomas Say in 1825. It is a member of the genus '' Nicrophorus'' or sexton beetles, comprising the most common beetles in the family Silphidae. This species is a decompose ...

''.Trumbo, S. T. (1990). Reproductive benefits of infanticide in a biparental burying beetle ''Nicrophorus orbicollis''. ''Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 27'': 269-273.

References

{{Authority control Belostomatidae Hemiptera of Asia