predaceous diving beetle

predaceous diving beetle, (family Dytiscidae), any of more than 4,000 species of carnivorous, aquatic beetles (insect order Coleoptera) that prey on organisms ranging from other insects to fish larger than themselves. Diving beetles are oval and flat and range in length from 1.5 mm to more than 35 mm (0.06 to more than 1.4 inches). They are well adapted to an aquatic environment. The hind pair of legs is long, flattened, and fringed to provide surface area that aids in flotation and swimming. The spiracles (openings through which the beetle breathes) are on the abdomen just under the tips of the wing covers (elytra). When in a resting position, below the water surface on an incline with the head down, the beetle raises the tips of the elytra and breathes through the spiracles. When ready to dive, it stores a supply of air under its wings for breathing while under water. Diving beetles are so streamlined that the males of some species have sucker-like cups on the first pair of legs so that they can hold on to the smooth surface of the female during mating.

The female deposits eggs in the water or on aquatic vegetation. The larvae, known as water tigers because of their voracious appetite, are long and slender and have sickle-shaped jaws. Through canals in its jaws the larva pumps digestive juices into its prey and sucks out the digested animal tissues. The larva, like the adult, breathes through spiracles on its abdomen and hangs suspended from the water surface film. In some species filamentous abdominal appendages function as gills, and the larva does not have to surface in order to breathe. Diving beetle larvae pupate in moist ground.

Two important worldwide genera (Dytiscus and Cybister) are more than 35 mm (1.4 inches) long and are raised and eaten in the Orient. The eyeless genus Siettitra lives in deep wells. Diving beetles are not generally considered beneficial because they eat fish and compete with them for food and space without providing them with a major food source.