{{Short description|Species of true bug}} {{Speciesbox | genus = Lethocerus | species = medius | authority = (Guérin-Méneville, 1857) | image = Lethocerus medius.jpg }}

'''''Lethocerus medius''''' is a species of giant water bug in the family Belostomatidae.<ref name=itis/><ref name=catlife/><ref name=gbif/><ref name=bugref/> It is found in Central America from northern Panama north throughout Mexico to southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States, and Cuba, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and the Bahamas.<ref name=itis/><ref name=Menke>{{cite journal |first=A. S. |last=Menke |title=A review of the genus ''Lethocerus'' in North and Central America, including the West Indies (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae) |year=1963 |journal=Annals of the Entomological Society of America |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=261–267 |doi=10.1093/aesa/56.3.261}}</ref>

They grow up to 49–58&nbsp;mm for males and 62–63&nbsp;mm of females.<ref name=bugref/> [[File:Lethocerus_medius_Arizona-Sonora_Desert_Museum.jpg|thumb|At Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.]]

==Behavior== While giant water bugs in the subfamily Belostomatinae brood eggs on their back, species in the subfamily Lethocerinae oviposit eggs on objects above the water surface. Male ''L. medius'' provide parental care by moistening the eggs, shading them, and protecting them from predators by resting on top of them. This postzygotic parental care is a rare phenomenon which sets them apart from other ''Lethocerus'' in the Lethocerinae subfamily.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Robert L. |last2=Larsen |first2=E. |year=1993 |title=Egg attendance and brooding by males of the giant water bug ''Lethocerus medius'' (Guerin) in the field (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae) |journal=Journal of Insect Behavior |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=93–106 |doi=10.1007/BF01049150 |bibcode=1993JIBeh...6...93S }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=itis> {{ITIS | title=''Lethocerus medius'' | id=103715 | access-date=2018-05-06 }}</ref>

<ref name=catlife>{{Catalogue of Life |id=6Q2MN |title=''Lethocerus medius'' (Guérin-Méneville, 1857) |access-date=11 September 2025}}</ref>

<ref name=gbif>{{GBIF | title=''Lethocerus medius'' | id=2007580 | access-date=2018-05-06 }}</ref>

<ref name=bugref> {{Cite web| title=''Lethocerus medius'' Species Information | url=https://bugguide.net/node/view/331814 | website=BugGuide.net | accessdate=2018-05-06 }}</ref> }}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q10559868}}

Category:Belostomatidae Category:Hemiptera of Central America Category:Hemiptera of North America Category:Insects of the United States Category:Freshwater animals of North America Category:Insects described in 1857 Category:Taxa named by Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville Category:Articles created by Qbugbot

{{Nepomorpha-stub}}