Numbers
8 Nearctic species
Hydrochara brevipalpis Smetana
Hydrochara leechi Smetana
Hydrochara lineata (LeConte)
Hydrochara obtusata (Say)
Hydrochara occulta (d'Orchymont)
Hydrochara rickseckeri (Horn)
Hydrochara soror Smetana
Hydrochara spangleri Smetana
Identification
Medium-sized water scavengers with spine (prosternal process) on underside; spine does not project past hind
coxae; species identification is challenging, and there have been some recent changes in taxonomy (e.g., several species split out from
H. obtusata) --see
(1)
Key to species in Smetana (1980)
(2).
Habitat
Ponds, streams, ditches, salt marshes. May be collected (overwintering?) from under stones and logs near streams. Come to lights during the summer.
Print References
Smetana, A. 1980.
Revision of the genus Hydrochara Berth. (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae). Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 112. 1-100.