Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Adephaga » Predaceous Diving Beetles (Dytiscidae) » Cybistrinae » Cybister

Genus Cybister

Cybister fimbriolatus (Say) - Cybister fimbriolatus - male Diving Beetle - Cybister fimbriolatus Diving beetle - Cybister fimbriolatus Cybister fimbriolatus Predaceous Diving Beetle–Cybister sp.? - Cybister fimbriolatus Large Diving Beetle - Cybister fimbriolatus Cybister fimbriolatus? - Cybister fimbriolatus Cybister fimbriolatus - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Adephaga
Family Dytiscidae (Predaceous Diving Beetles)
Subfamily Cybistrinae
Genus Cybister
Explanation of Names
Cybister Curtis 1827
Greek cybister 'diver'
Numbers
3 spp. in our area(1), ~100 total(2)
Size
our spp.: adults 26-34 mm, larvae up to ~80 mm
Identification
key to spp. in (1)
Hind legs broad. Metatarsal claws unequal, inner one smaller, sometimes absent. Metatarsi have fringe on outer margin, lacking in Dytiscus. Larvae with a frontal tooth on the head and no cerci.
Range
by far most diverse in the Old World tropics(3); in our area, mainly so. US (only C. fimbriolatus reaches Canada); the range of this genus is considered complementary to that of Dytiscus, the latter being more common and diverse in norther latitudes(4)
in our area(1): C. fimbriolatus se. Canada to FL-CA; C. explanatus OR-CA-NV; C. occidentalis extreme so.FL
Habitat
deeper, more open portions of ponds/lakes
Remarks
adults consumed as food in parts of Asia, Africa(5)(6)
See Also
Dytiscus | Hydrophilus
Print References
(7)
Works Cited
1.Review of the genus Cybister Curtis, 1827 (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Dytiscinae: Cybistrini) in North America
Miller K.B. 2013. Col. Bull. 67: 401-410.
2.A World Catalogue of the Family Dytiscidae, or the Diving Beetles (Coleoptera, Adephaga)
Nilsson and Hajek. 2019. Distributed by authors.
3.Keys to the insects of the Far East of the USSR, Vol. 3. Coleoptera I
Lehr P.A., ed. 1989. Leningrad, Nauka Publishing House, 572 pp.
4.Predaceous Diving Beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) of the Nearctic Region, with emphasis on the fauna of Canada and Alaska
D.J. Larson, Y. Alarie, and R.E. Roughley. 2001. NRC 43253.
5.The Water Beetles of Florida
Epler J.H. 2010. Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Tallahassee. 414 pp.
6.DeFoliart G.R. (2002) The human use of insects as a food resource: a bibliographic account in progress
7.Water Beetles of South Carolina
Janet Ciegler. 2003. Clemson University.
Contributed by Cotinis on 7 April, 2005 - 10:31pm
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, ceiseman, t.loh, v belov
Last updated 4 June, 2023 - 8:35pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo