Nutrition
Nepa cinerea is a predacious organism. They feed on various sized aquatic bugs. The ultimate prey organisms include mosquito larvae, water beetles (larvae and adult), mayfly nymphs, small fish, and small crustaceans. The Nepidae family is not active prey catchers. Water scorpions camouflage themselves in with the environment and wait for organisms to come within reach. The prey is quickly captured with its powerful front legs and the tiny mouth sucks out its body fluids. After ingesting the food it travels from the mouth into the gut with a set of complex salivary glands and out the rectum and anus.
