Lesser water boatman
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| Lesser water boatman | ||||||||||||||
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| Corixa punctata (Illiger, 1807) |
The lesser water boatman (Corixa punctata) is a water-dwelling insect of order Hemiptera.
They normally grow to between 5 and 15 mm long, and are found in ponds and lakes, and feeds on algae and dead plant material. They have long hind legs which they use to swim at the top of water, these powerful legs are covered in tiny hairs which help them keep buoyant.
They breathe oxygen by trapping air beneath their wing cases when they are on the surface as the oxygen is trapped by tiny hairs.
They are similar to Notonecta glauca, the water boatman or back swimmer by appearance, although these lesser waterboatman are herbivores and swim on their fronts. They are not related to Notonecta glauca, the water boatman or back swimmer.
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