Predators affect prey through direct consumption as well as by inducing prey to defensively alter their phenotypes, including behavioral phenotypes, to maximize survival under predation risk. Closely related sympatric prey species with shared natural enemies may resolve behavioral trade-offs under predation risk differently. In a laboratory experiment, we investigated two co-occurring semiaquatic backswimmer congeners, which exhibit differences in their degree of habitat specialization across a gradient of habitat permanence. Notonecta irrorata Uhler primarily occur in ephemeral ponds, whereas Notonecta undulata Say are habitat generalists that are commonly found in both permanent and ephemeral ponds.We tested whether the two species differed in antipredator responses to both visual and chemical cues of a shared predator, the giant water bug, in a fully factorial design.The generalist species, N. undulata, exhibited reductions in activity in the presence of predator chemical cues only, whereas the specialist species, N. irrorata, remained consistently active across predator cue treatments. Our work shows that there are species-specific differences in how prey assess or respond to predation risk.The varying propensities of these backswimmer congeners to behaviorally respond to a shared predator, and differences in their behavior when exposed to different predation risk cues may be linked to underlying divergence in their life-history strategies.