Dytiscus latissimus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dytiscus latissimus |
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| Dytiscus latissimus male and female, at National Museum (Prague) | |
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| Genus: |
Dytiscus
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| Species: |
latissimus
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The Dytiscus latissimus is a very large beetle that lives in water. It's also known as the broad-bordered diving beetle. This amazing insect is found in Europe and is considered a threatened animal, meaning it needs our help to survive.
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What is the Broad-Bordered Diving Beetle?
This beetle is one of the biggest diving beetles in the world! It can grow to be about 38 to 44 millimeters long. That's almost two inches! It looks a lot like another common diving beetle, D. marginalis, but it's much bigger and wider.
You can easily spot D. latissimus because it has special extensions on both sides of its body. Its wing covers (called elytra) and the part behind its head (the pronotum) are dark brown with bright yellow edges. Its head is black, and its legs are yellow.
Male beetles have shiny wing cases. Female beetles have wing cases with fine grooves. This beetle is a fierce hunter. It eats many different things, like other insects, tadpoles, and even small fish. Before they dive underwater, they collect air bubbles under their wing cases. These bubbles help them breathe.
Where Does the Broad-Bordered Diving Beetle Live?
You can find this special beetle in countries across northern and central Europe. It is protected by laws in the European Union. These laws help keep the species safe in its natural home.
What Kind of Home Does This Beetle Like?
The Dytiscus latissimus is an aquatic species, which means it lives in water. It likes places with lots of plants. You can find it in thick vegetation, especially plants like Carex (sedges) and Equisetum (horsetails). It lives at the edges of lakes or in calm, deep ponds.
A very important part of its home is having lots of caddisfly larvae. These larvae build little cases around themselves. They are the main food for young D. latissimus beetles, called larvae.
Why is This Beetle Threatened?
Sadly, this beetle has disappeared from many places where it used to live. This includes most of Central Europe. The main reason for this is how people use water bodies. When lakes and ponds are used a lot for raising fish, it changes the environment. These changes make it hard for the Dytiscus latissimus to survive.
There is good news, though! In Latvia, there is a successful program to breed these beetles. This program gives hope that one day, these beetles might be brought back to areas where they once lived. This could happen if those places become safe and healthy for them again.
Images for kids
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Illustration from Fauna Germanica: Die Käfer des deutschen Reiches (vol. I, pl. 39) (1908)
