Overview
The shore bugs are found world wide and are represented in Australia by 3 genera and 10 species. In Australia the Saldidae is the only family included in the superfamily Saldoidea.
The Saldids are extremely agile and their combination of jumping and flight make them difficult to catch. As their common name suggests they frequent the edges of water bodies such as stream and ponds, though some prefer a terrestrial habitat. Some species have been shown to be able to survive submerged for some time without the use of an oxygen bubble surrounding the insect.
Prey consists of both live and dead invertebrates. Laboratory specimens have been fed on Miridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), Cicadellidae (Hemiptera: Auchenorryhyncha), katydids (Orthoptera) and flies.
Eggs are laid on moss or vegetation or within the tissues of plants.
Distribution
Two subfamilies are represented in Australia. The Chiloxanthinae contains the genus
Pentacora
and 3 species that are distributed across northern Australia. The subfamily Saldinae, containing the genus
Saldula
(5 spp.) and the genus
Salduncula
(1 spp.), is found across the Australia.