What are diving beetles?
Diving beetles are water living invertebrates from the family Dytiscidae. They can live in any body of water, but mostly live in creeks, rivers, or lakes. There are many different species of diving beetle, although the two main types are small and great.
What do they eat?
Diving beetles can eat other invertebrates that fall into the water, or live in the water, like flying insects, tadpoles, small fish etc. The diet of a particular beetle varies on where they live, climate, water temperature, and what food is available to them. It can also depend on what type of diving beetle they are, as the Small Diving Beetle cannot take on prey as large as the Great Diving Beetle can. Sometimes they even attack and eat goldfish!
Where do they live?
Diving Beetles live everywhere in the world, in just about every country, continent and island on the face of the earth. They widely populate rivers creeks, troughs and lakes. They even live in troughs and creeks in and near Kyogle! They are occasionally flying to new bodies of water, so population in certain parts of the world always varies from time to time.
Bubble Power
To receive air while underwater, diving beetles ascend to the surface of the water and collect air bubbles to hold between their elytra (wing cases) and their abdomen. They inhale this air through their spiracles, so gaining a short term oxygen supply. This bubble can act like a physical gill, sometimes dissolving air molecules in the surrounding water to inhale. This system works best the larger the air bubble is. On their abdomens, they have a thin layer of short bristly hair, which works to keep the water out of the spiracle, so that they do not drown. This air works like the 'bed of nails' effect, where, when spread out, the water is held back, providing breathing space.
There are 12 spiracles on a diving beetle, 10 smaller ones and 2 larger ones that take in air.
There are 12 spiracles on a diving beetle, 10 smaller ones and 2 larger ones that take in air.