Habitat use and movement activity of two common predatory water bug species, Nepa cinerea L., 1758 and Ilyocoris cimicoides (L., 1758) (Hemiptera: Nepomorpha): field and laboratory observations

Abstract

Predatory invertebrates play a significant role in the organisation of aquatic communities. However, their ecology is poorly known even for many common taxa. We examined the meso-habitat use and aspects of movement activity of two common predatory water bug species Ilyocoris cimicoides (L., 1758) and Nepa cinerea L., 1758 under field and laboratory conditions in order to assess the effect of the patchiness on habitat choice. Ilyocoris cimicoides preferred open habitats, rich in submerged vegetation, without submerged terrestrial materials. Shaded habitats such as under trees, with moderately dense vegetation and submerged branches, were favoured by N. cinerea. Both laboratory and field data indicated differences in the short-term and similarity in the long-term movement behaviour of the two species. In the short-term, I. cimicoides moved frequently, while N. cinerea moved rarely, but the distance visited over the course of a longer time span is comparable.

Keywords:

• Hemiptera
• Nepa cinerea
• Ilyocoris cimicoides
• habitat patches
• predatory invertebrates
• Hungary

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments. Our thanks are due to Dr Christina Baker for her assistance in polishing the English.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.