Select an environment to see its whirligig beetles species checklist. The beetles gather in groups and move in what appears to be a chaotic way. The adult beetles carry a bubble of air trapped beneath their elytra. If you go out to any pond or a pool along a stream or river’s edge, you’ll see whirligigs. AE: No, we’re talking about beetles. [citation needed], The beetles could use the waves generated by their moving as a sort of radar to detect the position of object on the water surface around them. Their coloration is not showy and they can be quite hard to see if they are not moving or are under water. Their mandibles are curved, pointed, and pierced with a sucking canal. [2] They tend to be flattened and rounded in cross section, in plain view as seen from above, and in longitudinal section. Whirligig beetles occur in many types of aquatic habitats, including ponds, lakes and streams. Whirligig Beetles (Gyrinidae), a family of insects of the order Coleóptera. Such places supply a good turnover of floating detritus or struggling insects or other small animals that have fallen in and float with the current. Those are the beetles that are swimming along the surface of the water and as you approach they start speeding up and go into this frenetic activity. B. Rolf G. Beutela, Ignacio Riberab, Olaf R.P. 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. Many are predatory; some are scavengers; many are plant feeders (phytophagous); others feed on fungi; and a few are parasitic on other organisms. It inhabits all continents except Antarctica. The more beetles in an aggregation, the more quickly the group as a whole responds to the approach of stimuli. Bininda-Emondsa; A genus-level supertree of Adephaga (Coleoptera) Organisms, Diversity & Evolution 7 (2008) 255-269, Whiting, Michael F.; Phylogeny of the holometabolous insect orders: molecular evidence Zoologica Scripta Volume 31, Issue 1, pages 3-15, February 2002, "Burmese amber reveals a new stem lineage of whirligig beetle (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae) based on the larval stage", "Sex and the selfish herd: sexual segregation within nonmating whirligig groups", "Optimal group positioning after a predator attack: the influence of speed, sex, and satiation within mobile whirligig swarms", List of subgroups of the order Coleoptera, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whirligig_beetle&oldid=992374829, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 4 December 2020, at 22:54. Their back legs are short and flat so act as the perfect paddle for shooting across the water surface on the hunt for small insects. I'm being taught that the families Dystiscidae (diving beetles) and Gyrinidae (whirligig beetles) belong to the suborder Archostemata. Among other functions, the lubricant layer and smooth outline make the beetles remarkably difficult to hold on to if caught; they slip from between one's fingers like a fresh orange pip. In general the adults occupy areas where water flows steadily and not too fast, such as minor rapids and narrows in leisurely streams. The beetle has four long, orange, flattened legs that can make 60 strokes a second. 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 … [6], The antennae are unusual among beetles, being short and plump, and placed about at water level. Such action is called drafting. Whirligig beetles feed at the water surface on insects that have fallen in the water. Males are also more likely to be found on the outside of groups (although grouping is not known to be relevant to mating behavior in this family). There are two variations of this species, one in the North and one in the South (the northern version has darker legs). The determination of forward/backward positioning within a group has been found to be affected in a complex manner by a combination of water speed, sex of the beetle, and the type of predator (bird or fish) that a beetle has most recently observed. Research underway on their behavior is directed at investigating the significance of chemical defense in relation to their position in the group. They also dive underwater to catch other animals for a tasty treat. Coleopteran - Coleopteran - Feeding habits and habitats: Beetles are found in almost any habitat occupied by insects and feed on a variety of plant and animal materials. Figure 2. [7]. The midlegs and back legs are shaped like broad oars; the forelegs are used for grasping. Here the beetle looks like a lazy manatee floating on the water, but no. EOL has data for 23 attributes, including: The environments in which many whirligig beetles species are known to live. Their bodies are oval, flattened, and metallic bluish black in colour. The compound eyes are remarkable for each being divided into a higher part that is above water level when a beetle is floating passively, and a lower part that is below water level. Most species are found in oxygen-rich habitats, probably because of the high oxygen requirement of … The Gyrinidae are surface swimmers for preference. They get the name "Whirligigs" from their ability to swim very quickly and whirl around on the surface of the water. Search for: what do water beetles eat. Their coloration is not showy and they can be quite hard to see if they are not moving or are under water. They are used like oars. In fact their shape is a good first approximation to an ellipsoid, with legs and other appendages fitting closely into a streamlined surface. Riffle beetles live in habitats with high levels of dissolved oxygen, therefore are found in fast sections of cold streams and rivers. 0 25 50 terrestrial aquatic coastal pond river bank mountain The middle and hind pairs of legs are much shorter and thicker than the front pair. Most species are very similar in general appearance, though they vary in size from perhaps 3 mm to 18 mm in length. Mature larvae pupate in a cocoon that also is attached to water plants. [citation needed], In particular the beetles make behavioral trade-offs that affect their choices of positions within a group. The middle, and more especially the hind legs are adapted for swimming (natatory): they are greatly flattened and fringed with bristles that fold to aid swimming action. Whirligig beetles are most conspicuous for their bewildering swimming. The economies that the beetles can gain by suitably adjusting their positions within the group, are important when individuals swim against the flow of a stream. This allows them to dive and swim under well-oxygenated water for indefinite periods if necessary. Stuart McCausland's photo doesn't do justice to the crazy whirligig beetle that can manage most any athletic trick in the book. They are gregarious and often cluster together when swimming in circles. [4] Some of the Adephagan families seem to be polyphyletic themselves, so a definitive cladistic structure will have to await more advanced nucleic acid analyses. 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. They are scavengers, and love earthworms, small pieces of meat, and dead insects. 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. They can live in ponds, swamps, bogs, lakes, streams and rivers. Staphylinids (rove beetles) are usually predatory, both as larvae and as adults. Such studies are of interest in research into aspects of nanotechnology because the beetles' motion may be expected to provide insights into how groups of robots might coordinate movements. It might be outdated or ideologically biased. For example, relatively hungry beetles go to the outside of a group, where there is less competition for finding food, but higher risk of encountering predators. Whirligig beetles have other tricks that reduce their likelihood of becoming fish or bird food. [1] In this respect they recall the horizontally divided eyes of the four-eyed fishes (Anableps), which also live at the surface of the water. 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