Abedus immaculatus is a species of water bug in the family Belostomatidae.[1][2] It is the only Abedus species found in the eastern United States, occurring throughout Florida north into Georgia and west along the Gulf Coast to Mississippi.[3]

Abedus immaculatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Family: Belostomatidae
Genus: Abedus
Species:
A. immaculatus
Binomial name
Abedus immaculatus
(Say, 1832)
Synonyms

Abedus cantralli Hussey and Herring, 1950
Belostoma fluminea immaculata Say, 1832

Adults reach lengths of 13–14 mm, making them the smallest species in the genus Abedus, the smallest belostomatid in the United States, and the only species in the subgenus Microabedus.[4] It is locally common in parts of the Everglades, where it is associated with shorter hydroperiod sites.[5]

Abedus immaculatus was originally described by Thomas Say in 1832 as Belostoma fluminea var. immaculata, redescribed as A. cantralli in 1950, with the two names synonymized to A. immaculatus in 1950.[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ "Abedus immaculatus Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  2. ^ "Abedus immaculatus species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  3. ^ Henry, Thomas J.; Froeschner, Richard C., eds. (1988). Catalog of the Heteroptera, or True Bugs, of Canada and the Continental United States. CRC Press. ISBN 9780916846442.
  4. ^ Epler, John H. (2006). "Identification Manual for the Aquatic and Semi-aquatic Heteroptera of Florida" (PDF). Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
  5. ^ Pintar, Matthew R.; Kline, Jeffrey L.; Trexler, Joel C. (2021). "The aquatic Heteroptera (Hemiptera) of marshes in the Florida Everglades". Florida Entomologist. 104 (4): 307–319. doi:10.1653/024.104.0408. S2CID 245265428.
  6. ^ Hussey, Roland F.; Herring, Jon L. (1950). "A remarkable new belostomatid (Hemiptera) from Florida and Georgia". The Florida Entomologist. 33 (2): 84–89. doi:10.2307/3492076. JSTOR 3492076.
  7. ^ Hussey, Roland F.; Herring, Jon L. (1950). "Rediscovery of a belostomatid named by Thomas Say (Hemiptera)". The Florida Entomologist. 33 (4): 154–156. doi:10.2307/3492740. JSTOR 3492740.