Taxonomic review and distribution of giant water bugs (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae: Lethocerinae) in the Palearctic, Oriental, and Australian regions

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to analyze the morphology and COI sequences of giant water bugs (Belostomatidae: Lethocerinae) that inhabit the Palearctic, Oriental, and Australian regions (i.e., three Lethocerus and a single Kirkaldyia species). Analysis revealed that both L. patruelis and L. indicus share two light stripes on the pronotum, but L. patruelis possesses narrower stripes and L. insulanus possesses an additional longitudinal narrow dark median band, whereas K. deyrolli was characterized by not having such markings. With regards to genetic analysis, the average intraspecific genetic distances of L. patruelis and L. indicus (from Palearctic and Oriental regions are 0.3 and 0.8%, respectively), but K. deyrolli which was collected from Northeast Asia, showed much higher intraspecific genetic distance (3.7%). The genetic distance between Kirkaldyia and Lethocerus (16.4–16.8%) is similar to that found between the genera of other hemipteran taxa. This study also newly reported the extended easternmost distribution of L. patruelis up to Surat Thani Province in southern Thailand. Along with K. deyrolli, which is considered threatened in South Korea and Japan, Lethocerus species have been facing threats in Southeast Asia, where they are heavily harvested and commonly sold in local markets as food. Therefore, future conservation efforts should be directed toward Lethocerus species in tropical Southeast Asia, especially the rarely found L. patruelis.

Discovery of a new population of the endangered giant water bug Kirkaldyia deyrolli (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae) in Kyushu and evaluation of their genetic structure

“…In previous phylogenetic analyses of K. deyrolli , the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase I ( COI ) region has been analyzed (Sareein et al . 2019; Ogata et al . 2023), as well as the complete mitochondrial DNA genome (Nakasako et al .…”

Using citizen science to monitor non-native species: the case of Lethocerus patruelis (Stål, 1855) (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae) in Italy

“…Heteroptera: Nepomorpha: Belostomatidae) is the only Belostomatidae species present in Europe (Grozeva et al 2013, Sareein et al 2019 and it is the largest European true bug. Its distribution includes south-eastern Europe, Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, Mesopotamia, Pakistan, India, and part of south-eastern Asia (Perez Goodwyn 2006, Sareein 2019.…”

“…Heteroptera: Nepomorpha: Belostomatidae) is the only Belostomatidae species present in Europe (Grozeva et al 2013, Sareein et al 2019 and it is the largest European true bug. Its distribution includes south-eastern Europe, Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, Mesopotamia, Pakistan, India, and part of south-eastern Asia (Perez Goodwyn 2006, Sareein 2019. Concerning Europe, this species is known to be found in Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Crete, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey, and there are some unconfirmed records for Hungary (Aukema and Rieger 1995, Perez Goodwyn 3 2006, Bacchi and Rizzotti Vlach 2007, Grozeva et al 2013, Cianferoni and Nardi 2013, Dulcic et al 2015, Stoianova and Simov 2016, Corsini-Foka et al 2019, Davranoglou and Karaouzas 2021.…”

“…Species of the Belostomatidae family, commonly called "giant water bugs", "electric light bugs" or "toe-biters", are large, aquatic predators distributed in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania (Ohba 2019, Sareein et al 2019. The subfamily Lethocerinae includes three genera (Lethocerus, Kirkaldyia, and Benacus) (Goodwyn 2006) that are known to feed mainly upon vertebrates (Ohba 2018).…”

Complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the giant water bug Kirkaldyia deyrolli (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae).

“…Molecular phylogenetic analysis revealed that K. deyrolli in Japan was genetically differentiated enough to be considered a unique population distinct from the K. deyrolli from South Korea and China (Sareein et al. 2019 ).…”