Hydrophilus aterrimus (Latin) is a large water beetle of the family of water lovers (Hydrophilidae).
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| Hydrophilus aterrimus Eschscholtz, 1822 | ||||||||||||||
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Content
Description
Body length 32-43 mm. The body is coal black. On the sides of the abdomen with red spots. Antennae thick, clavate, used to trap air during ascent. Back legs swimming.
Larva cone-shaped, body length 7-9 cm.
Lifestyle and nutrition
The dweller of standing water overgrown with aquatic vegetation. Adult beetles are aquatic, but they do not swim too well, preferring to crawl through aquatic plants. To protect against enemies, apply a thick black liquid ejected from the abdomen and hissing.
Larvae also do not like to swim, mostly sitting on the ground or crawling along the bottom.
The imago feeds on leaves of aquatic plants, and the larvae are mostly small mollusks.
Area
Found in Eurasia, up to the Far East.
Literature
- Kozlov M. A. , Oliger I. M. The school atlas-determinant of invertebrates. - M .: Enlightenment, 1991. - p. 100. - 207 p. - 200 000 copies - ISBN 5-09-001435-3 .