transporting a waterscorpion

[kevinkk]

On our most recent collecting trip, I captured a waterscorpion, Ranatra quadridentata I believe, as it is fairly large.
I wanted to bring it back alive, and put it in an empty salad deli cup with water and nothing else.
When we got home, it had expired, what did I do wrong? I've seen these animals for sale before, so they
must ship in the post somehow. There was enough air, and it didn't get that hot in the car, even though
we're in the middle of a heat wave.

[livingplanet3]

On our most recent collecting trip, I captured a waterscorpion, Ranatra quadridentata I believe, as it is fairly large.
I wanted to bring it back alive, and put it in an empty salad deli cup with water and nothing else.
When we got home, it had expired, what did I do wrong? I've seen these animals for sale before, so they
must ship in the post somehow. There was enough air, and it didn't get that hot in the car, even though
we're in the middle of a heat wave.

I believe that aquatic insects are typically shipped packed in slightly damp paper towels or some similar, moisture holding material. If transported in water, they apparently somehow have a tendency to drown. I have no personal experience with such, but there are undoubtedly others who can provide more info, either on this forum or at - https://beetleforum.net/

[Trehopr1]

Some creatures don't do well under stress. Perhaps, the confinement of the container and the "sloshing" around water was just too much.

As livingplanet3 said it likely drowned as it's air tubes which break the surface tension of relatively still waters could not work as designed.

[Chuck]

They do NOT like sloshing around. I always thought it was the beating that killed them (when I was a kid). They can stay out of water quite some time, after that all they need is food.

[Eleodes]

Btw, they are super easy to feed once you get them home, they'll eat pretty much anything that resembles an insect, plus small fish, small tadpoles, and snails. But, interestingly, they they typically don't bother conspecifics, at least if fed regularly. They're also super easy to breed.

[livingplanet3]

Has anyone here ever encountered waterscorpions of the subfamily Nepinae? There's only one species (Nepa apiculata) found in North America -

https://bugguide.net/node/view/9089

They look much like belostomatids, and are quite different from the slender waterscorpions of the subfamily Ranatrinae (which more resemble stick insects).