INFRAORDER NEPOMORPHA

• Animals Kingdom (Animalia)

• Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

• Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

• Insects (Class Insecta)

• True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and Allies (Order Hemiptera)

• True Bugs (Suborder Heteroptera)

• Water Bugs (Infraorder Nepomorpha)

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​The infraorder Nepomorpha is a major group of aquatic true bugs within the suborder Heteroptera. Commonly known as the true water bugs, its members are highly adapted for life beneath the surface of freshwater habitats such as ponds, lakes, marshes, streams, and slow-moving rivers. Unlike the semi-aquatic bugs of the infraorder Gerromorpha, which skate on the water's surface, nepomorphs spend most or all of their lives underwater. They exhibit numerous adaptations for aquatic living, including streamlined bodies, swimming legs fringed with hairs, and specialized methods of obtaining oxygen, such as carrying air bubbles or extending breathing tubes to the surface. Most species are predators that feed on aquatic insects, crustaceans, tadpoles, and even small fish, using their piercing-sucking mouthparts to inject digestive enzymes and consume liquefied tissues.