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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Staphyliniformia » Hydrophiloidea » Water Scavenger Beetles (Hydrophilidae) » Hydrophilinae » Berosini » Berosus

Genus Berosus

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited

Berosus species - possibly sayi? - Berosus

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

No Taxon (Series Staphyliniformia)

Superfamily Hydrophiloidea

Family Hydrophilidae (Water Scavenger Beetles)

Subfamily Hydrophilinae

Tribe Berosini

Genus Berosus

Explanation of Names

Berosus Leach 1817

Numbers

17 spp. in our area(1), 6 in Canada(2), >260 worldwide

Identification

Adult: lateral outline of pronotum forms discontinuous line with elytra; pronotum and elytra with dark marks or spots; 2nd and 3rd pair of legs with swimming hairs on tibia; ventral surface relatively smooth between legs, lacking long keel or spine(3); shape of elytral apices important for species determination

Larva: light brown with darker brown markings; body elongate, with pointed tail and long lateral filamentous gills on abdomen

Range

most of the world and NA, including the arctic

Habitat

among submergent vegetation in ponds or edges of slow-moving portions of streams; adults come to light

Season

larvae present in spring; adults present year-round in water that doesn't freeze

Food

larvae prey on small aquatic invertebrates

Remarks

adults are unusual in that they can breath underwater, absorbing oxygen from the water through their body surface(3)

Internet References

Taxon page(3)

Works Cited

1.	American Beetles, Volume I: Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia Arnett, R.H., Jr., and M. C. Thomas. (eds.). 2000. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.

2.	Checklist of beetles (Coleoptera) of Canada and Alaska. Second edition Bousquet Y., Bouchard P., Davies A.E., Sikes D.S. 2013. ZooKeys 360: 1–402.

3.	Digital key to aquatic insects of North Dakota

Contributed by Jim McClarin on 8 September, 2005 - 5:35pm
Additional contributions by Robin McLeod, Bbarnd, Tim Moyer, v belov
Last updated 11 December, 2014 - 10:20pm

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