Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Staphyliniformia » Staphylinoidea » Rove Beetles (Staphylinidae) » Water Skaters (Steninae) » Stenus

Genus Stenus

Stenus semicolon LeConte - Stenus semicolon

Stenus flavicornis? - Stenus flavicornis

Small Black Tree Rove - Stenus flavicornis

Stenus alpicola (Fauvel) - Stenus alpicola

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

No Taxon (Series Staphyliniformia)

Superfamily Staphylinoidea

Family Staphylinidae (Rove Beetles)

Subfamily Steninae (Water Skaters)

Genus Stenus

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Subgenera are understood to be artificial(1)

Explanation of Names

Stenus Latreille 1797

Numbers

one of the largest beetle genera, with ~170 spp. in our area(1) and ~3100 total(2)

Identification

habitus photos of >60 western spp.(3)

Adults have unique protrusible labium used in prey capture(1) &bull, video

Range

worldwide and throughout NA(1)

Habitat

mostly wet habitats; several spp. prey on low vegetation rather than on the ground

Remarks

Northern hemisphere spp. are arranged into 6 groups (useful, but not necessarily natural) traditionally called subgenera, based on 3 character states:

abdomen with, or without complete margin on sides;

hind tarsi about ½‒⅖ the length of tibia, or clearly longer;

tarsomere 4 simple to slightly notched, or deeply divided into lobes.

Often tumble into water from vegetation; can walk on water but slowly. When in danger, they release an anal gland secretion which lowers the water surface tension behind nd propels the beetles along at 45-70 cm/s; beetle controls the direction by moving abdomen side to side.(4)

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.	BioLib.cz

3.	Photo gallery of the Spencer Entomological Collection

4.	Insect Behavior Robert W. Matthews and Janice R. Matthews. 1988. Robert E. Krieger Publishing Co.

Contributed by Phillip Harpootlian on 28 March, 2005 - 11:05am
Additional contributions by cotinis, Mike Quinn, Boris Bueche, v belov, Marci Hess
Last updated 8 March, 2024 - 7:22pm

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