CHARACTERISTICS:
- Length:
2.4 inches/ 3 inches (larvae)
Before
laying her eggs, the female water beetle turns over on her back and secretes
a sheet on the water surface., most often under a floating leaf. The
air bubbles which the insect carries accumulate between the leaf and
the sheet. Then she lays her eggs in a bag and attaches it to the leaf;
she also makes an air vent in the sheet. It is in this peculiar boat
that the eggs will hatch. The larvae will dig through the shell to get
to the water
Thus
it would seem that, contrary to what its name indicates, the water beetle
is not well adapted to an aquatic life. Its feet are not palmated and
it swims in the way insects walk, by alternately moving one leg of each
pair. It swims slowly and awkwardly even though it is made lighter by
a layer of air bubbles on the short hairs of the belly. It is this air
layer that makes its belly seem silver when its swims under water.
The
respiratory air is kept under the anterior wings and is replaced by making
one antenna stick through the water surface. The antennae are also covered
by short hairs.
The
adult is herbivorous, but the larva is carnivorous and eats mostly mollusks,
such as linnae or other insect larvae. The larva swallos its prey after
saturating it with a dissolving liquid. |
