| Water
Scorpion / Needle Bug
Some Water Scorpion species look like land scorpions.
Also known as toe-biters, they are often seen beneath
the water surface or on aquatic vegetation.
What they look like:
Water Scorpions are large, predatory water bugs with
grasping, pincer-like forelegs for seizing their prey.
They have a short or long breathing tube at the end
of their abdomen. There are two commonly found water
scorpions - one stout and leaf-like, and the other thin
and stick-like (Needle Bug).
Size:
Up to 50 mm long.
Where they live:
Water Scorpions mostly live among water weeds or in
the mud of ponds, lakes and streams but a few are found
under rocks in flowing water.
What they eat:
Water Scorpions are carnivores (car-nee-vorz),
eating pond animals. They capture their prey with their
front legs and suck out its body fluids.
Pollution
tolerance: Tolerant, rating 3.
Water Scorpions can tolerate low levels of dissolved
oxygen, by coming to the surface to breathe or by
using their long breathing tubes. |
What’s interesting about
the Water Scorpion?
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