Big Beetle found dead on our deck - Dytiscus harrisii

I see...

that you shop at the Real Canadian Superstore (the no name brand is recognizable) :-)
What's the size of the flyer? I'm thinking this might D. harrisii (Harris's Diving Beetle), one of the largest known Nearctic dytiscids.

… Tim Loh, 19 April, 2009 - 2:53pm

Not a flyer, but...

It is a matchbook. Size 38mm x 46mm

… Adriana, 19 April, 2009 - 3:08pm

From the dimensions that you gave...

I estimated the size of the beetle to around 35-37 mm, which fits into the ballpark of D. harrisii. Overall shape and colour also fits the species. Specimen looks badly beaten (missing abdomen) but it's a new data point for Ontario so moving it to species page for now (perhaps until a better specimen comes in).

… Tim Loh, 24 April, 2009 - 1:34am

memories

Just saw the location of this Dytiscid. I have lots of beetles from Camp Ennismore on Pidgeon Lake. My parents fished there every summer for many years and I went with them to hunt Coleoptera. Wonderful area.

… Rick Buss, 19 April, 2009 - 9:40am

Wonderful area

I am between Chemong Lake and Pidgeon Lake. Within walking distance from Chemong Lake. We moved here 6 years ago and love it.

… Adriana, 19 April, 2009 - 3:11pm

Dytiscus, rather

(in Cybister, no yellow along the pronotal base or anterior margin)

… v belov, 18 April, 2009 - 7:33pm

Thank you!

Thank you for identifying this beetle. Our backyard is kept fairly natural and I love discovering the diverse plant life and all the creatures that inhabit it. I had never before seen such a big beetle in the wild (only in a museum).

… Adriana, 19 April, 2009 - 3:13pm

well I got the family right a

well I got the family right at least :-)

… Will Chatfield-Taylor, 19 April, 2009 - 10:00am

Dytiscid

It's a predacious diving beetle, looks like the genus Cybister. They're pretty neat, and get quite big. They come to lights readily too

… Will Chatfield-Taylor, 18 April, 2009 - 7:29pm

Thank you!

Thank you for identifying this beetle. I know a whole lot more
about it now. I have put the beetle in a small see-through box and have copied a bit about him (or her?). When I see my grandson next week, I'll pass it on to him to take for "show and tell" at school.

… Adriana, 19 April, 2009 - 3:17pm