NEPA. NEPA. 



Generic Character. 



Eostrum inflexum. 

 Alts quatuor, cruciato-com- 

 plicatae, anticc coriacese. 



Pedes anteriores cheli- 

 formes, reliqui quatuor 

 ambulatorii. 



Snout inflected. 



Wings four, cross-compli- 

 cate, coriaceous on the 

 upper part. 



Fore- Feet cheliform, the 

 rest formed for walk- 

 ing. 



JL HIS genus, like that of Notonecta, is aquatic, 

 inhabiting stagnant waters, and preying on the 

 smaller water-insects, &c. The largest species 

 yet known, and which very far surpasses in size 

 all the European animals of the genus, is the Nepa 

 grandis, which is a native of Surinam and other 

 parts of South-America, often measuring more 

 than three inches in length. Its colour is a dull 



V_J 



yellowish brown, with a few darker shades or 

 variegations: the under wings are of a semitrans- 

 parent white colour, and the abdomen is termin- 

 ated by a short tubular process. Madam Merian 

 represents this species, in her Surinam Insects, as 

 preying on tadpoles and young frogs. 



Nepa cinerea or the Common Water-Scorpion, 



