Water bugs are in the order Hemiptera in which all the members are characterised by having modified mouthparts into a “Rostrum” used for piercing or sucking. The order now has four sub-orders, Auchenorrhyncha, Sternorrhyncha, Coleorryhncha and Heteroptera.

Heteroptera is Greek for “different wing” and refers to the way the wing (Hemielytra) is made up at the front of harder leathery parts (Corium) and then towards the end being softer or transparent (Membrane). This is not always the case in Water bugs as the wings become modified but a good rule of thumb.

The group is a mix of both Land and water bugs. World wide there are 40,000 species in this group with c,500 in Great Britain of which 69 are water bugs and c30 shore bugs. The main water bug species are in the two families Gerramorpha for the water surface dwelling bugs and Nepomorpha for those that swim under the water. For the purposes of this Study we are also going to include Leptopodomorpha which inhabit the water body shores and muddy lake edges. The Dipsocoromorpha are litter bugs and included in the Water Bugs recording scheme.