ENY 3005 Family Identification

Coleoptera: Dytiscidae

Common name: predaceous diving beetles

Identifying characteristics for the family Dytiscidae include:

• First abdominal sternite divided by hind coxae (suborder Adephaga).
• Distinctive shape, elongate-oval; range from 1.2 to 40 mm in length.
• Hind legs flattened and fringed for swimming.
• Antennae threadlike, longer than maxillary palpi (cf. Hydrophilidae).
• Tarsi mostly 5-5-5.

• Predators of small aquatic animals.
• Adults utilize air trapped under elytra to stay submerged for long periods.
• Use a "frog kick" for swimming.
• 41 genera and 476 species in North America.

References:

• Pages 154-155 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Pages 96-100 in R. E. White. 1983. A Field Guide to Beetles of North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 368 p.
• Page 410 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
• Page 460 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.
• Page 191 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.