The rowing legs lack claws but are fringed with long hairs. Movement: Swimmers using middle and hind pairs of legs as oars. Whirligig Beetles live on the surface of the water, often in large groups, gyrating as they search for prey, hence the common name. Those that swim on the surface of ponds and lakes, such as whirligig beetles, have divided eyes that give the appearance of two pairs—the top half sees above water, the lower half sees below. Whirligig beetles swim exceptionally fast in circles. Whirligig beetle, (family Gyrinidae), any of about 700 species of beetles (insect order Coleoptera) that are widespread throughout the world and are usually seen in groups, spinning and whirling around on the surfaces of quiet ponds or lakes.Whirligig beetles prey on insects and other creatures that fall on the water surface. It can be found on almost any body of water from ponds and lakes, to canals, ditches and slow-flowing rivers. Size: Adult beetles of some species reach sizes up to 20 mm. Whirligig beetles are found on the water surface of ponds and slow sections of streams and rivers. These aquatic insects use their long back legs as oars to propel themselves across the water. Gyrinidae Latreille, 1810 (Whirligig Beetles) Whirligig beetles live in lentic or lotic habitats and generally swim on the water surface if undisturbed, but they dive quickly if alarmed. The environments in which many whirligig beetles species are known to live. Morphologically, they’re quite different from hydrophilids and dytiscids – they’re adapted to life on the water surface, but they are adept at swimming below the water’s surface too. Life cycle: Whirligig beetles undergo complete metamorphosis. Whirligig beetles are like the ducks of the arthropod world in that sense that they have conquered land, water and sky: they’re exceptional swimmers both above and below the water’s surface, and they have wings so they can fly to a new body of water if need be (which explains how that beetle got in the swimming pool). Select an environment to see its whirligig beetles species checklist. Gyrinids (the whirligig beetles) are those beetles that you’ve probably seen scurrying in groups across the surface of a pond. The whirligig beetles have compound eyes, and it looks at first as if there are four of them. whirligig beetles Habitats. They get their common name from their habit of swimming rapidly in circles when alarmed and are also notable for their divided eyes which can … The larvae may take more than a year to mature. When they emerge as adult beetles, their mission is to locate the opposite sex, mate, and lay eggs; they don’t live long as adults. When they are large enough to pupate, they do so either underwater, still attached to stones, or in the soil near the stream. These are water beetles that normally live on the surface of the water. The backswimmer's dorsal side is convex and V-shaped, like the keel of a boat. The Whirligig beetle is one of a group of 12 very similar species. In common with many aquatic insects, they use counter-shading to blend with their environment; they are black against a dark background when viewed from above, and their underbelly is pale against the sky when viewed from below. Udo Schmidt cc-by-sa-2.0 Whirligig Beetle … Whirligig beetles have other tricks that reduce their likelihood of becoming fish or bird food. Some examples: Beetles that hunt, such as ground beetles, and those that use their sight for finding mates, such as fireflies, have larger eyes. In reality, there are two, both split across the middle. Their bodies are oval, flattened, and metallic bluish black in colour. Donald A. Yee, Siegfried Kehl, in Thorp and Covich's Freshwater Invertebrates (Fourth Edition), 2015. Beetles that are aquatic in all life stages include ‘Whirligig Beetles’ (Gyrinidae). The backswimmer's coloration is the opposite of most insects, presumably because they live their lives upside down.
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