Appasus

Appasus
Male Appasus japonicus with eggs
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Family: Belostomatidae
Subfamily: Belostomatinae
Genus:
Amyot and Serville, 1843[1]
Species

see text

Appasus is a genus of giant water bugs (family Belostomatidae) found in freshwater habitats in Asia and Africa.[2]

Giant water bugs exhibit male parental care. In Appasus and other species in the subfamily Belostomatinae (but not subfamily Lethocerinae), the female glues the eggs onto the male's back, and the male tends them until the eggs hatch.[3]

Species

Partial list of species:

  • Appasus ampliatus (Montandon, 1914)
  • Appasus capensis Mayr, 1871
  • Appasus grassei (Poisson, 1937)
  • Appasus japonicus (Vuillefroy, 1864)
  • Appasus major (Esaki, 1934)
  • Appasus quadrivittatus Bergroth, 1893
  • Appasus stappersi (Montandon, 1916)

References

  1. ^ Amyot & Serville (1843). (Roret's Suite à Buffon) Hémiptères: page 430.
  2. ^ Capinera, J.L., ed. (2008). Encyclopedia of Entomology (2 ed.). Springer. p. 1620. ISBN 978-1-4020-6242-1.
  3. ^ Robert L. Smith (1997). "Evolution of paternal care in the giant water bugs (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae)". In Jae C. Choe & Bernard J. Crespi (eds.). The Evolution of Social Behavior in Insects and Arachnids Sociality. Cambridge University Press. pp. 116–149. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511721953.007. ISBN 978-0-511-72195-3.