Abstrait

BIO-ECOLOGY OF AQUATIC AND SEMI-AQUATIC INSECTS OF ORDER HEMIPTERA IN THE WORLD

Hassan Vatandoost

Background: Hemiptera is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species. Most hemipterans feed on plants. Other species have been used for biological control of insect pests. Hemipterans have been cultivated for the extraction of the dyestuff cochineal (also known as carmine) and for shellac. The bed bug is a persistent parasite of humans, and some kissing bugs can transmit Chagas disease. The bed bug, Cimex lectularius, is an external parasite of humans. It lives in bedding and is mainly active at night, feeding on human blood, Cicadas have been used as food. Hemipterans make use of a variety of modes of locomotion including swimming, skating on a water surface and jumping, as well as walking and flying like other insects.

Methods: In this research different databases including: “PubMed”, “Web of Knowledge”, “Scopus”, “Google Scholar”, “SID”, “random” and “thesis.research.ac.ir” were used.

Results: Results showed that there are significant varieties in the distribution of aquatic and semiaquatic Hemiptra worldwide. The main important aquatic and semiaquatic families were: Belostomatidae, Hydrophilidae, Dytiscidae, Corixidae, Nepidae, Notonectidae, Peleidae, Naucoridae, Gerridae, Vellidae, Hydrometridae, Gelasorocidae, Mesoveliidae, Heridae, and Corduliidae.

Discussion and conclusion: Aquatic and semi aquatic heteropterans form food in different trophic levels of fresh water ecosystems. Due to their poor dispersal capabilities, these bugs serve as zoogeographical indicators for diverse habitats. Many families of the bugs may be utilized in the biological control of mosquito larvae. Some are used as indicators of water quality.