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Large (3.5 cm) black water beetle of the Family Hydrophilidae. In the ventral view you can see the enormous ventral spine used in defense (and very painful), attached to the prothorax and extending down between the legs clear onto the abdomen. The antennae are clubbed and shorter than the maxillary palpi. The tarsi (feet) are modified for swimming with a fringe of hair along all the segments. They can swim under water for long periods by carrying a layer of air on the under surface of the body. You can see the fine gold hairs in the first picture which help trap air close to the body. Their eyes are large and evenly divided above and below the body so that they can see equally well above and below while swimming. They have well-developed wings and fly well, so they occasionally come to lights at night.
Attracted to the lights of a shopping mall on the outskirts of the city and close to the wetlands, 2,200 meters.
Spotted on Nov 11, 2012
Submitted on Nov 12, 2012
2 Comments
Thank you Leuba, it is neat to find one of these out of the water.
Such lovely lines - great spotting, Lauren !