First record of the predation of giant water bug (Kirkaldyia deyrolli) eggs by orthopteran species

Abstract

Giant water bugs, Kirkaldyia deyrolli Vuillefroy (Belostomatidae: Lethocerinae), live in densely vegetated aquatic habitats such as paddy fields, slow-moving rivers, and ponds. The male attends to the egg mass and supplies it with water until the eggs hatch, and protects the eggs against infanticide by conspecific females and predation by ants. However, no other invertebrate egg predators have been reported in Lethocerinae so far. Here, we report two examples of K. deyrolli egg predation by orthopterans. This is the first report on the predation of Belostomatidae eggs by orthopteran species.