Aquatic insects

Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a family of small flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word mosquito (formed by mosca and diminutive -ito) is Spanish and Portuguese for little fly. Mosquitoes have a slender, segmented body, one pair of wings, three pairs of long hair-like legs, and specialized, highly elongated, piercing-sucking mouthparts. All mosquitoes drink nectar from flowers; females of many species have adapted to also drink blood. The group diversified during the Cretaceous period. Evolutionary biologists view mosquitoes as micropredators, small animals that parasitise larger ones by

Odonata is an order of predatory flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies (as well as the Epiophlebia damsel-dragonflies). The two major groups are distinguished with dragonflies (Anisoptera) usually being bulkier with large compound eyes together and wings spread up or out at rest, while damselflies (suborder Zygoptera) are usually more slender with eyes placed apart and wings folded together along body at rest. Adult odonates can land and perch, but rarely walk.

Mayflies (also up-winged flies or up-wing flies, or drake-flies in the UK; shadflies or fishflies in Canada) are aquatic insects belonging to the order Ephemeroptera. This order is part of an ancient group of insects termed the Palaeoptera, which also contains dragonflies and damselflies. Over 3,000 species of mayfly are known worldwide, grouped into over 400 genera in 42 families.

The caddisflies (order Trichoptera) are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the basis of the adult mouthparts. Integripalpian larvae construct a portable casing to protect themselves as they move around looking for food, while annulipalpian larvae make themselves a fixed retreat in which they remain, waiting for food to come to them. The affinities of the small third suborder Spicipalpia are unclear, and molecular analysis suggests it ma

Plecoptera is an order of insects commonly known as stoneflies. Some 3,500 species are described worldwide, with new species still being discovered. Stoneflies are found worldwide, except Antarctica. Stoneflies are believed to be one of the most primitive groups of Neoptera, with close relatives identified from the Carboniferous and Lower Permian geological periods, while true stoneflies are known from fossils only a bit younger. Their modern diversity, however, apparently is of Mesozoic origin.

The Dytiscidae, from the Ancient Greek word δυτικός (dutikós), meaning "able to dive", are the predaceous diving beetles, a family of water beetles. They occur in virtually any freshwater habitat around the world, but a few species live in terrestrial habitats such as among leaf litter. The "diving" in their common name comes from their cycling between underwater and the surface to replenish oxygen like a diver. The adults of most are between long, though much variation is seen between species. The European Dytiscus latissimus and Brazilian Bifurcitus ducalis are the largest, reaching up to re

family of water beetles

Alderflies are megalopteran insects of the family Sialidae. They are closely related to the dobsonflies and fishflies as well as to the prehistoric Euchauliodidae. All living alderflies – about 66 species all together – are part of the subfamily Sialinae, which contains nine extant genera.

Halobates, colloquially the sea skaters or ocean striders, are an insect genus with over 40 species of water striders. Most Halobates species are coastal and typically found in sheltered, coastal marine habitats (a habitat where a few other genera of water striders also live), but five live on the surface of the open ocean and only occur near the coast when storms blow them ashore. These are the only known truly oceanic, offshore insects. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine habitats around the world, with a single species recorded in rivers a few kilometers upstream from the ocea

common name for any beetle living in water

family of beetles

Chloroperlidae are a family of stoneflies, commonly known as green stoneflies, with more than 200 species and 22 genera. They appear green to yellow in colour, and are popularly used among fisherman as bait for trout fishing. Green stoneflies live in the benthic zone of the cold streams and rivers of five continents and four zoogeographical regions, emerging from the water to live in the riparian zone as adults. They are sensitive to pollutants, making them an indicator species for determining the quality of water bodies. Chloroperlidae are hemimetabolous, having no pupal stage, but instead ha

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insects which live in the air or on land and breed in water

species of insect in family Eustheniidae

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larvae of certain species of hoverflies

Helotrephidae is a family of aquatic bugs found mainly in the tropical regions with many species in the Oriental Realm and a few from Africa, Madagascar and South America. These bugs are found swimming or walking amid submerged vegetation in stagnant or slow moving, shaded freshwater in forest habitats. They are a sister group of the Pleidae.

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Dobsonflies are a subfamily of insects, Corydalinae, part of the Megalopteran family Corydalidae. The larvae (commonly called hellgrammites) are aquatic, living in streams, and the adults are often found along streams as well. The nine genera of dobsonflies are distributed in the Americas, Asia, and South Africa.

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Gripopterygidae is a family of stoneflies in the order Plecoptera. There are more than 50 genera and 320 described species in Gripopterygidae. thumb|Rakiuraperla nudipes

Austroperlidae is a family of stoneflies in the order Plecoptera. There are about 10 genera and 15 described species in Austroperlidae across southern land masses Australia, New Zealand, and South America.Austroperlidae species are unique among stoneflies in having aposematic (warning) colouration. For instance, the New Zealand black stonefly Austroperla is a forest dwelling shredder that is toxic to predators due to its production of hydrogen cyanide. The warning colouration of this species is mimicked by several lineages of the unrelated non-toxic New Zealand stonefly Zelandoperla.

Eustheniidae is a family of insects in the order Plecoptera, the stoneflies. They are native to Australia, New Zealand, and Chile.

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Stenoperla is a genus of insect in the family Eustheniidae containing a number of species of stonefly all endemic to New Zealand.

Diamphipnoidae is a family of stoneflies in the order Plecoptera. There are at least two genera and about nine described species in Diamphipnoidae. They are only found in Chile and Argentina, and possibly Paraguay and Uruguay.

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Eusthenia is a genus of stonefly in the family Eustheniidae. It is endemic to Australia, with most species native to Tasmania.

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Fishflies are members of the subfamily Chauliodinae, belonging to the megalopteran family Corydalidae. They are most easily distinguished from their closest relatives, dobsonflies, by the jaws (mandibles) and antennae. In contrast to the large jaws (especially in males) of dobsonflies, fishfly mandibles are not particularly noticeable or distinctive, and the males have feathery antennae similar to many large moths. Chauliodes pectinicornis, the "summer fishfly", is a well-known species in North America.

Thaumatoperla is a genus of insect in the family Eustheniidae containing four species of stonefly, all endemic to the Victorian alpine area of Australia.

thumb|Archichauliodes diversus Archichauliodes is a genus of fishflies in the family Corydalidae. There are more than 20 described species in Archichauliodes.

species of stonefly endemic to New Zealand

Chauliodes is a genus of fishflies in the family Corydalidae. There are about five described species in Chauliodes. thumb|Chauliodes rastricornis

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