Overview
These are a primarily tropical group of small (2-7mm in length) bugs that have a distinctively punctured dorsal surface and a short 4-segemnted labium.
Very little is known of the biology of these agile bugs. They are commonly associated with boulders close to running water, though they are also taken in drier habitats.
Leptopodids are predacious, though prey records are scarse.
Distribution
Only two species,
Valleriola tribulosa
and
Valleriola wilsonae
have been described from Australia. Both possess a limited distribution in tropical north-east Queensland.