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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Staphyliniformia » Hydrophiloidea » Water Scavenger Beetles (Hydrophilidae) » Hydrophilinae » Hydrophilini » Giant Water Scavenger Beetles (Hydrophilus)

Genus Hydrophilus - Giant Water Scavenger Beetles

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Works Cited
Giant Water Scavenger Beetle - Hydrophilus ovatus Diving Beetle of Some Kind ? - Hydrophilus triangularis Large, dark green water beetle - Hydrophilus ovatus Hydrophilus? - Hydrophilus ovatus Hydrophilus ovatus Arizona Beetle for ID - Hydrophilus triangularis - female Hydrophilus triangularis? - Hydrophilus triangularis - female Hydrophilus triangularis
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Staphyliniformia)
Superfamily Hydrophiloidea
Family Hydrophilidae (Water Scavenger Beetles)
Subfamily Hydrophilinae
Tribe Hydrophilini
Genus Hydrophilus (Giant Water Scavenger Beetles)
Explanation of Names
Hydrophilus Geoffroy 1762
'water-loving'
Numbers
4 spp. in 2 subgenera in our area(1); 3 subgenera total(2)
H. (H.) ensifer s.FL & the Neotropics
H. (H.) insularis s.AZ, s.TX, FL & Mesoamerica
H. (H.) triangularis: Canada (BC‒QC) to Mexico
H. (D.) ovatus: e.NA (QC‒FL to IA‒TX); Mexico
Size
the largest members of the family, >30 mm (our spp. up to 40 mm, extralimital spp. up to ~50 mm)(2)(3)
Identification
keys to spp. in (2)(4)
Range
New World & Eurasia(1)(3)
Habitat
stagnant/slow waters; prefer deeper water (weedy ponds, deep drainage ditches)(2)
Life Cycle
Female deposits up to 140 eggs in cocoon-like case with a "mast". Pupation in moist soil. 1‒2 generations per year. Some adults overwinter under leaf litter. Others may remain under ice and stay active all winter. Lifespan may exceed one year.
Remarks
The subgenus Dibolocelus in Mexico was recently revised, with 5 additional spp. (other than H. ovatus) recorded along the Gulf Coast in Mexico and one in Cuba. Some of these species may be eventually discovered in so.TX or FL. (Arce-Pérez et al. 2021)
See Also
Hydrochara • Dytiscus • Cybister
Print References
Arce-Pérez R., Arriaga-Varela E., Novelo-Gutiérrez R., Navarrete-Heredia J.L. (2021) Giant water scavenger beetles Hydrophilus subgenus Dibolocelus (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) from Mexico with description of two new species. Zootaxa 5027: 387–407. Full text
Works Cited
1.American Beetles, Volume I: Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia
Arnett, R.H., Jr., and M. C. Thomas. (eds.). 2000. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.
2.The Water Beetles of Florida
Epler J.H. 2010. Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Tallahassee. 414 pp.
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.Review of the Giant Water Scavenger Beetle Genus Hydrophilus Geoffroy (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) of the US and Canada.
A. E. Z. Short and C. E. Mcintosh IV. 2014. The Coleopterists Bulletin 68(2): 187-198.
Contributed by Cotinis on 8 January, 2005 - 2:10pm
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, v belov, Marci Hess, Arturo Santos, mpintar
Last updated 9 December, 2023 - 12:38pm

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