mystery beetle - Neoplea

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… Brad Barnd, 3 August, 2011 - 3:13pm

Neoplea

Going strictly by distribution and assuming no weird introductions, this is most likely Neoplea striola. However, these critters are hard enough to identify when you have them under the scope, so please don't quote me on this. Also, as Epler points out, this family really and truly needs work, so species identifications may not be that reliable at present.

… Brady Richards, 29 July, 2011 - 9:19am

thank you

OK, I won't quote you on it, but you did give me something new to look up; Neoplea striola is in the Pleidae family mentioned below in the other replies. Every piece of information helps me learn. Thanks again.

… K J Rebarcak, 1 August, 2011 - 9:13pm

not a beetle... this is a member of the Pleidae family

see(1)
mouthparts would give the beast away

… v belov, 29 July, 2011 - 8:12am

what a great learning experience--thanks!

I never would have guessed it was a backswimmer. No wonder I couldn't find it under Coleoptera. I also didn't know that not all backswimmers are Notonectidae. I plan to study the mouthpart issue further, too.

Interestingly, I couldn't find anything about Pleidae in my Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America (Voshell), and that book seemed to be quite comprehensive. Can anyone recommend any other books/guides that I should add to that one?

… K J Rebarcak, 29 July, 2011 - 8:33am

sources

by far the best one for aq.insects in general, to genus level, is(1) (many editions); definitely useful for your purposes/area are(2)(3)(4); you will most certainly benefit from and greatly enjoy(5)(6).
i know little about other aquatic orders, but pls check relevant guide pages --they usually cite the essential sources.
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the mouthparts should have helped you to rule out beetles immediately

… v belov, 29 July, 2011 - 8:53am

looking forward to delving into your recommendations

They all look fascinating, and I can't wait to sit down and start poring through the online information. I placed the hard-copy books on my Amazon wish list, too.

I apologize for the delay in this reply; I was away for the weekend with no computer access.

I'm still catching on to the basics of aquatic insect ID-ing. It is good to know from now on that beetles never have mouthparts that look like that.

… K J Rebarcak, 1 August, 2011 - 9:00pm