Male-parental-care
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Abedus
ferocious water bugs
Abedus is a genus of giant water bugs in the family Belostomatidae, found in freshwater habitats of the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America. These brown insects are notable for their exclusive male parental care, where females glue eggs onto the male's back and males carry and tend them until hatching. Most species are flightless or have greatly reduced flight capabilities. They are sit-and-wait predators that capture prey with raptorial front legs and subdue it with a venomous proboscis.
Abedus immaculatus
Abedus immaculatus is a species of giant water bug in the family Belostomatidae. It is the only Abedus species found in the eastern United States, with a range extending throughout Florida north into Georgia and west along the Gulf Coast to Mississippi. Adults measure 13–14 mm in length, making them the smallest species in the genus Abedus and the smallest belostomatid in the United States. The species is the sole member of the subgenus Microabedus. It is locally common in parts of the Everglades, where it occurs in shorter hydroperiod sites.
giant-water-bugaquatic-insectfreshwaterwetlandEvergladesendemiceastern-United-Statessmallest-belostomatid-USAmale-parental-careBelostomatidaeHemipteraMicroabedushydroperiodFloridaGeorgiaMississippiGulf-CoastThomas-Say1832Abedus-cantrallisynonymywater-bugtrue-bugNepomorphaHeteropteraInsectaArthropodaAnimaliaLethocerus
giant water bugs, toe biters, electric light bugs
Lethocerus is a genus of large predatory aquatic true bugs in the family Belostomatidae. Members are among the largest true bugs, with some species exceeding 12 cm in length. The genus is distinguished from related genera by specific morphological features of the fore femur and parasternites. Unlike other giant water bugs, females do not deposit eggs on males' backs; instead, eggs are laid on emergent vegetation above the waterline and guarded by males. The genus shows greatest diversity in the Americas, with limited representation in Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia.
Oxybelus sericeus
Oxybelus sericeus is a species of solitary wasp in the family Crabronidae, subfamily Crabroninae. The species is notable for exhibiting male nest guarding behavior, which is rare among sphecid wasps. Males have been observed remaining at nest entrances and actively defending nests against intruders, representing unusual paternal investment in this group. The species was described by C. Robertson in 1889 and is known from North America.
Pycnogonida
sea spiders, pycnogonids, Pantopoda
Pycnogonida is a class of marine arthropods commonly known as sea spiders. Over 1,300 species have been described, ranging in leg span from 1 mm to over 70 cm. They occur in oceans worldwide from shallow coastal waters to deep sea and Antarctic regions. Males possess specialized ovigerous legs for carrying eggs, a distinctive trait among chelicerates.
Pycnogonum stearnsi
Stearns' sea spider
Pycnogonum stearnsi is a sea spider in the family Pycnogonidae, found on the Pacific coast of North America and in Japan. It reaches about 2.5 cm in length and lacks eyes, chelicerae, and pedipalps—unusual traits among sea spiders. It feeds by inserting its barrel-shaped proboscis into soft-bodied prey and sucking fluids. Males carry egg masses on specialized ovigerous legs.
Trypoxylon californicum
Trypoxylon californicum is a solitary spider-hunting wasp in the family Crabronidae, subgenus Trypargilum. Females nest in pre-existing cavities such as hollow twigs, beetle borings, or abandoned mud dauber nests, partitioning them into multiple cells provisioned with paralyzed spiders. Males actively guard nest entrances against parasites while females hunt, a behavior termed 'patriarchate' by naturalists. The species is found across western North America and has been successfully attracted to artificial trap nests.