HEM1PTERA. 
131 
pond, stilted on their long legs, or clinging head downward 
to the stems of plants. 
The most common members of this family belong to the 
genus Ranatra (Ran'a-tra) (Fig. 150). These are long, slender 
bugs with long, slender legs. The 
only other representative of the fam¬ 
ily found in the United States is Nepa 
apiculata (Ne'pa a-pic-u la'ta). In 
this species the body is oval, flat, 
and thin, and measures about two 
thirds of an inch in length, not includ¬ 
ing the breathing-tube, which is a 
little more than one fourth of an inch 
long. (See Fig. 214, p. 174.) 
The Water-scorpions live among 
rubbish or on the stems of water- 
plants, in ponds and in the quiet parts 
of our streams. They are carnivo¬ 
rous, and have the first pair of legs 
fitted for seizing prey. In these legs 
the coxa is very long, and the femur 
is furnished with a groove into which FlG - *5° Ranatra/usca. 
the tibia and tarsus fit like the blade of a pocket-knife into 
the handle. 
Owing to the linear form of the body of Ranatra , and to 
the dirt with which it is usually covered, it is quite difficult 
to detect the presence of this insect among the rubbish 
where it is found. Doubtless this resemblance to a dirty 
stick aids it greatly in the capture of insects, small fish, and 
other unwary animals upon which it preys. 
Family BELOSTOMlDiE (Bel-os-tom'i-dse). 
The Giant Water-bugs . 
We have named these insects the Giant Water-bugs as 
the family includes the largest Heteroptera now in existence. 
