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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Ground and Water Beetles (Adephaga) » Predaceous Diving Beetles (Dytiscidae) » Dytiscinae » Dytiscus » Vertical Diving Beetle (Dytiscus verticalis)

Species Dytiscus verticalis - Vertical Diving Beetle

Classification · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Internet References

Predaceous Diving Beetle - Dytiscus verticalis - male

diving beetle - length - Dytiscus verticalis

Vertical Diving Beetle - Dytiscus verticalis

Predaceous Diving Beetle - Dytiscus verticalis

Dytiscus verticalis? - Dytiscus verticalis

A species of Predaceous Diving Beetle (Dytiscus sp.)? - Dytiscus verticalis

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Adephaga (Ground and Water Beetles)

Family Dytiscidae (Predaceous Diving Beetles)

Subfamily Dytiscinae

Genus Dytiscus

Species verticalis (Vertical Diving Beetle)

Explanation of Names

Dytiscus verticalis Say, 1823

Size

adult body length 33-38 mm

larva to about 50 mm

Identification

Adult: pronotum with yellow border on lateral margins only; yellow lateral margin of elytra continues as an oblique line across apex; two tibial spurs on hindleg are approximately equal in size

Range

ne NA - northeastern United States and southeastern Canada from Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan

Habitat

permanent or temporary freshwater ponds and pools

Season

adults from March to November

Food

larvae and adults prey on fish larvae, mosquito larvae, other aquatic invertebrates, and sometimes tadpoles and salamanders

Life Cycle

one generation per year; overwinters as an adult in permanent waters

Remarks

North Carolina State U. has 7 specimens in their collection but none were collected in North Carolina.

Florida State Collection of Arthropods list of Dytiscidae has no Dytiscus species.

Oklahoma State University has 2 D. verticalis specimens in their collection but there is no indication that the specimens were collected in Oklahoma.

See Also

other Dystiscus species have a yellow band across the anterior - and usually posterior - margin of the pronotum (see images of 9 species at U. of Alberta)

Cybister fimbriolatus lacks oblique yellow line across apex of elytra, and the outer tibial spur on the hindleg is larger and broader than the inner spur (whereas in Dytiscus species, both spurs are about equal in size)

Internet References

live adult image and other info (U. of Michigan)

common name reference and other info (enature.com)

distribution in Canada; PDF doc list of provinces (D.J. Larson and R.E. Roughley, Checklist of Beetles of Canada and Alaska)

presence in Saskatchewan; list (U. of Saskatchewan)

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 12 November, 2006 - 10:20am
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn
Last updated 28 July, 2017 - 12:06pm

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