Eurasian Water Scorpion

Nepa cinerea · Order: Hemiptera · Family: Nepidae

Also called: Water Scorpion

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Eurasian Water Scorpion
Photo: Attila Oláh, CC BY

The Eurasian water scorpion (Nepa cinerea) is a true water scorpion species found across most of Europe, the British Isles, North Africa, and parts of Asia.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Nepa cinerea belongs to the water scorpion family Nepidae.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It inhabits ponds, small rivers, and stagnant water bodies.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Eggs are deposited on plant stems and are equipped with seven filamentous processes that float freely in the water.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its range includes most of Europe, the British Isles, North Africa, and southern and northern Asia.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Eurasian Water Scorpion photo 3
Photo: Attila Oláh, CC BY
Eurasian Water Scorpion photo 4
Photo: Attila Oláh, CC BY
Eurasian Water Scorpion photo 5
Photo: Юлия, CC BY

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepa_cinerea

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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