Nepa (bug)

Nepa is a genus belonging to the family Nepidae, known as water scorpions. Species are found in freshwater habitats in the Northern Hemisphere.

They are oval-bodied, aquatic insects with raptorial front legs. Like other members of the Nepidae, they have a pair of nonretractable cerci-like breathing tubes on the terminal abdominal segment, a characteristic which readily distinguishes them from the Belostomatidae. Their primary staples are other insects and small aquatic vertebrates. They can inflict a painful bite when handled.