Influence of the predatory backswimmer, Notonecta maculata, on invertebrate community structure.
Some observations on the diet of the backswimmer, Anisops wakefieldi (Hemiptera: Notonectidae).
Optimum diet and body size in
backswimmers (Heteroptera: Notonectidae, Pleidae).
Backswimmers are the scuba divers of the insect world.
The Family Pleidae (pygmy
backswimmers) was identified to Plea at NPS2.
The literally dozens of study systems considered include bryozoans, cladocerans, mussels, nematodes, gorillas,
backswimmers, sunfish, damselfish, hummingbirds, chickadees, oystercatchers, wagtails, snakes, lions, wildebeests, antlions, and plants.
Because their backs are shaped like the bottom of a sailboat,
backswimmers move smoothly near the top of the water.
The effects of fish and pH on the distribution and abundance of
backswimmers (Hemiptera: Notonectidae).
n Learn about 'Boatmen and
Backswimmers' at Plantsbrook Local Nature Reserve, The Interpretative Centre, off Eachelhurst Road, Erdington, Birmingham, Monday 11am12.30pm and 2pm-3.30pm.
Examples of very different overwintering strategies include some corixids (water boatmen) that overwinter in air bubbles in ice, some Pleidae (pygmy
backswimmers) that switch to plastron respiration to overwinter on the bottom of ponds, some ochterids (velvety shore bugs) that overwinter as nymphs on moss on soil, some hydrometrids (marsh treaders) that overwinter as adults on land far from water, and some veliids (broad-shouldered water striders) that are active in the warmer days in winter.
The defensive spines should, in contrast, offer little defense against most invertebrate predators (with piercing or chewing mouthparts; e.g., diving beetle larvae,
backswimmers, other odonate larvae) (see also Reist 1980b).
By manipulating food and exposure to predators, Sih (1980, 1987) showed that
backswimmers were capable of balancing the conflicting demands of hunger and predator avoidance when choosing a microhabitat.