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NOTE: As of 2014, the California Beetle Project page is no longer updated. The original database and list of California beetles in the menu on the left will remain for the time being, but the information contained within is not necessarily current. SBMNH Entomology Curator Matthew L. Gimmel has divided up the function of the original database into two conceptual halves:

  1. The SBMNH Entomology specimen-level database, including all SBMNH beetle specimens included in the CBP database, which is now available (and ever-growing) through the ecdysis portal at https://serv.biokic.asu.edu/ecdysis/

  2. A literature- (and available specimen-)based checklist.
  3. of the Coleoptera of California, which is being revised and re-compiled by Dr. Gimmel, and, as of January 2017, is about 85% complete.




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Last updated 01/16/2009

 California Beetle Project > Species Pages > Hydroscapha natans

Classification

Scientific name: Hydroscapha natans LeConte
    Order Coleoptera
    Suborder Myxophaga
    Family Hydroscaphidae

Images (click to enlarge)

What it looks like: 1-2 mm in length. This beetle has an elongated, oval-shaped body that is tapered at both ends. It is brown with short elytra that leave part of the abdomen exposed.

Where you'll find it: This species ranges from Mexico all the way up through Idaho.

Natural History: These beetles are aquatic, living in streams ranging from icy cold mountain creeks to hot springs. They feed on algae both as larvae and adults, and the adults carry an air supply under their elytra, as bubbles that cling to small hairs on the abdomen. The females produce only one large egg at a time, an unusual feature among beetles.

This page was written by Maren Farnum, a 2005 California Beetle Project intern.




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