AQUATIC AND SEMIAQUATIC HEMIPTERA OF PEATLANDS AND MARSHES IN CANADA

Abstract

AbstractThirteen families containing 138 species of aquatic and semiaquatic Hemiptera have so far been recorded from Canada. The identification of these presents few real difficulties and so the general occurrence of the taxa across the country is fairly well known. Although there has been no intensive study of the Hemipterous insects in peatlands and marshes, the 61 species so far reported from marshes, 32 from fens, and the 33 from bogs appear to be facultative rather than obligatory inhabitants of these habitats. All have been found in other habitats and probably most lentic species occur in marsh habitats. All aquatic and semiaquatic bugs are predators, and most overwinter as adults. Environmental–physiological study of species occurring in bogs has just begun, but evidence suggests that many species have the ability to regulate their internal milieu in water with pH below 4.6–4.7. However, further experiments are needed to determine the physiological limits of tolerance of these insects, the details of osmotic and ionic regulation, and acid–base balance in low-pH water. More collecting is needed in bogs, fens, and marshes, and the life cycle and biology of the Hemiptera occurring in peat-lands still require intensive study.