Heteroptera is a worldwide distributed group of insects inhabiting both terrestrial and aquatic habitats and has an important ecological role. A survey of aquatic and semiaquatic Heteroptera from Cuba is provided based on literature reports and field collections. General data on species geographical distribution are given, along with altitude and collection season. Representatives of 86 species and morphospecies of the infraorders Dipsocoromorpha, Leptopodomorpha, Gerromorpha and Nepomorpha are listed, distributed in 35 genera and 16 families were found. Based on distributional data, a preference for habitats of stagnant water or slow current and lower altitudes is inferred. Fifteen species are distributed throughout the entire island. A higher species diversity was found in the Eastern sector, with 53 species (61.63%), 16 of which (18.60%) are confined to this area. The strongest biological similarity was found between Eastern and Western sectors (25%), and the weakest between Western and Central sectors (14%).
A checklist of the semiaquatic and aquatic Heteroptera from Cuba is presented, based on literature records and examination of entomological collections. A total of 74 species and 1 morphospecies, 35 genera, and 16 families of the infraorders Dipsocoromorpha, Leptopodomorpha, Gerromorpha, and Nepomorpha are listed. Seven of the represented species are endemic to Cuba (9.5%), 7 of the Caribbean subregion (9.5%), and 13 of the Neotropics (17.6%). The most diverse families in the country are Gerridae (14 species), Veliidae (12 species), and Corixidae (11 species). Available distributional and habitat data are provided for each species.
Distributional records of fourteen species of Gerromorpha, belonging to the families Gerridae, Hebridae, Hydrometridae, Mesoveliidae, and Veliidae, are reported from Cuba. The following species are recorded for the first time from eastern Cuba: Rheumatobates clanis Drake and Harris, 1932, R. meinerti Schroeder, 1931, Trepobates pictus (Herrich- Schäffer, 1848) (Gerridae), Hydrometra australis Say, 1832 (Hydrometridae), and Platyvelia brachialis (Stål, 1860) (Veliidae).
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