Two Orange and Black Beetles for October

Predaceous Diving Beetle from the Homer Lake Wetland, October 8, 2021


Among the creatures that reappeared when the water came back to the wetland at the end of last week were the predaceous diving beetle above and the crawling water beetle below, both suitably attired in orange in black in honor no doubt of October.

Lest there be any misunderstanding, let me clarify that these are small (half a centimeter or less) and that the names "predaceous diving beetle" and "crawling water beetle" are broad family names, not specific to these individual species. 

The predaceous diving beetle family consists of more than 4000 species, of which some 600 can be found in North America (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/dytiscidae).  

The crawling water beetle family has a much more modest 238 species (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/haliplidae). 

Crawling Water Beetle from the Homer Lake Wetland, October 8, 2021


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