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NOTE: As of 2014, the California Beetle Project page is no longer updated.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 > Laccophilus maculosus

Classification

Scientific name: Laccophilus maculosus Say
    Order Coleoptera
    Family Dytiscidae

Images (click to enlarge)

What it looks like: 5.1-6.4 mm in length. Its body is oval-shaped and robust with a dark brown head and light tan shoulders. The elytra are mottled and dark brown. It has powerful hind legs used for swimming.

Where you'll find it: This species can be found throughout North America. Our only subspecies, Laccophilus maculosus decipiens occurs from British Columbia down to Baja California.

Natural History: These water beetles occur in shallow, sunny pools in forested or grassland regions. They live among rooted vegetation or ponds covered in algae.

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




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