The First Finding of Six Instars of Larvae in Heteroptera and the Negative Correlation between Precipitation and Number of Individuals Collected in Sea Skaters of Halobates (Heteroptera: Gerridae)
by
Tetsuo Harada 1,*, Takahiro Furuki 1, Wataru Ohoka 2, Noritomo Umamoto 1, Mitsuru Nakajo 3 and Chihiro Katagiri 4
Tetsuo Harada 1,*, Takahiro Furuki 1, Wataru Ohoka 2, Noritomo Umamoto 1, Mitsuru Nakajo 3 and Chihiro Katagiri 4
1
Laboratory of Environmental Physiology, Graduate School of Integrated Sciences and Arts, Kochi University, Kochi 780-8520, Japan
2
Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
3
Laboratory of Science Education, Graduate School of Integrated Sciences and Arts, Kochi University, Kochi 780-8520, Japan
4
Faculty of General Education, Tokyo Denki University, Tokyo 120-8551, Japan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Brian T. Forschler
Insects 2016, 7(4), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects7040073
Received: 4 September 2016 / Revised: 1 December 2016 / Accepted: 1 December 2016 / Published: 7 December 2016
This study, conducted during a scientific cruise, MR15-04, aims, first, to examine species and larval/adult components of Halobates (Heteroptera: Gerridae) inhabiting the tropical Indian Ocean of 4°00′ S–7°00′ S, 101°00′ E–103°00′ E and, second, to examine the correlative relationship between precipitation just before collection and the number of sea skaters collected in November and December 2015. Near Sumatra (50 km south-west), larvae and adults of four species of Halobates (Halobates germanes White, 1883; Halobates micans Eschscholtz, 1822; Halobates princeps White, 1883; undescribed species: Halobates sp.) were collected. Adults of an undescribed species had about a 5 mm long body in a gourd-like shape. One male adult specimen of H. princeps was collected. Body length, body width, and head width was measured in all specimens of Halobates. Six larval stages were detected in all three species of sea skaters as the first finding for Heteropteran insects. There was a negative correlation between amount of precipitation for 19 h before collection and the number of Halobates individuals collected by the neuston net. Death or (positive or passive) sinking by sea skaters could be due to occasional rain fall on the sea surface.
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Keywords:
sea skaters; near Sumatra; undescribed species; six instars as larval stages; negative correlation between precipitation and number of sea skaters
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MDPI and ACS Style
Harada, T.; Furuki, T.; Ohoka, W.; Umamoto, N.; Nakajo, M.; Katagiri, C. The First Finding of Six Instars of Larvae in Heteroptera and the Negative Correlation between Precipitation and Number of Individuals Collected in Sea Skaters of Halobates (Heteroptera: Gerridae). Insects 2016, 7, 73.
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