First observation of <scp><i>Lethocerus cordofanus</i></scp> (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae) preying on <scp><i>Afronycteris nana</i></scp> (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

First observation of Lethocerus cordofanus (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae) preying on Afronycteris nana (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

Published:2023-07-18 Issue:3 Volume:26 Page:
ISSN:1343-8786
Container-title:Entomological Science
language:en
Short-container-title:Entomological Science

Author:

Chen Kelvin¹^ORCID,Massaad Mark²,De Lima Ricardo³,Rainho Ana³,Rocha Ricardo⁴

Affiliation:

1. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources Rutgers University New Brunswick New Jersey USA

2. Department of Agriculture, Food and Forest Sciences (SAAF) University of Palermo Palermo Italy

3. Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, and Department of Animal Biology University of Lisbon Lisbon Portugal

4. Department of Biology University of Oxford Oxford UK

Abstract

AbstractGiant water bugs (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae) are key predators in freshwater ecosystems and have been reported to feed on several species of vertebrates, including fishes, amphibians and reptiles. Here, we report the opportunistic predation of an adult female vesper bat (Afronycteris nana) by a giant water bug (Lethocerus cordofanus) in a temporary pond in a rice paddy in Guinea‐Bissau, West Africa. To our best knowledge, this is the first instance of natural predation upon a mammal by a giant water bug to be documented in a scientific report.

Funder

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Publisher

Wiley

Subject

Insect Science,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Link

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ens.12558

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