ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the environments themselves, especially those in which the most species of aquatic hexapods have been found. It also focuses on the most common kinds of habitat in which hexapod species of many kinds thrive. The species inhabiting such water bodies are treated in separate chapters on insects with exceptional adaptations. Lentic habitats, such as ponds, small lakes, large lakes, and impoundments are characterized by little or no water flow during periods of relatively calm weather. Many aquatic insects are adapted only to life in lotic, or flowing water. In addition to carbon sources, plant growth is promoted by several essential nutrients, such as nitrogen in the form of ammonium, nitrite, or nitrate, and phosphorus, present as phosphates or related compounds. The main climatic zones of the earth are classified primarily according to the seasonal amounts of solar radiation reaching the earth's surface, the temperature during the individual seasons, and the flora and fauna present.
