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- ›Ochteroidea
Velvety Shore Bugs
Ochteridae
The Ochteridae comprise a small family of insects. Eight genera with about 80 species have been described. They occur worldwide along the shore of various types of water (for example, streams and ponds) and the greatest diversity is in tropical regions. They are "true bugs", being members of the order Hemiptera, and are in the suborder Heteroptera. Ochteridae commonly are known as the velvety shore bugs. They resemble the Saldidae shore bugs and have lengths ranging from 4.5 to 9 mm (0.18–0.35 in).
Most of the Ochteridae inhabit the edges of ponds and other still waters. Little is known of their habits, but all are believed to predate on small invertebrates, such as larvae of flies. They tend to be lively and capable of active leaping and flight.
3 branches of this family, most-observed first
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Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Ochteridae in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 430400.