Today the family of beetles, water scavenger beetles has more than 2,000 species, which settled around the globe.This aquatic insects that live very poorly because of his clumsiness.In Russia, these beetles are about 200 species.They vary in size, appearance and lifestyle.
Who is pennywort large
Basically pennywort - are small beetles reach of only a few millimeters.But there are also very impressive insects such as pennywort large.Eating these types of consider later.And now briefly describe this major representative of the water scavenger beetles.The size of the insect can reach 4.8 cm. It is the largest European beetle, overweight, shiny black with convex elytra insect.
Description pennywort large
These beetles swim very badly and reluctantly, mostly prefer to crawl on aquatic plants.When sailing pennywort perform asynchronous movement middle and hind limbs.On the legs on the upper side there are swimming bristles.In fact, they resemble swimming paddles.Breathing beetles air-water scavenger beetles, ie they breathe atmospheric air.Periodically, they rise up to the head of the water surface and breathe club-thick mustache, putting them out of the water.The air is retained in the lower part of the body between the hairs, and are therefore below shine like silver.
Males are suckers on their feet.It looks like a big pennywort.The shape of the body, nutrition and appearance - all of these characteristics are related.They largely determine the lifestyle bug, how it hunts and travels.Abdomen sides covered with red spots.His lower half without longitudinal keel.The head is massive with big eyes.Elytra have thin grooves and rows of dots between them.Antennae beetle - red with asymmetrical mace.
Black little body is different from other big pennywort.Coating, food is not much related.But perhaps because of the fact that pennywort mostly eats plants, it has got black olive-green hue.Also painting of a beetle can be both.There are:
- Dark brown beetles.
- dark blue.
Habitats
mainly lives pennywort large in the following locations:
- In Europe, except for the extreme north.
- the Mediterranean.
- the Caucasus.
- in Middle and Central Asia.
- in southern Siberia.
- In Primorye.
- China.
- India.
Standing heavily overgrown shallow ponds with clean water - this is a great place prefers pennywort.Dining there is often varied.Reservoirs also need good warm up and have a muddy bottom.Eating beetle:
- Algae.
- rotting plants.
- dead small fish.
- dead insects.
Reproduction
spring after mating, the female lays her eggs in pennywort special spider cocoon of white silky strands.It attaches to the plants that grow from the water surface.Cocoon has a baggy flattened shape.At one end it narrows and forms a hornlike appendage.About 5 hours makes a cocoon pennywort large.Eating beetle in this period by the time stops.Since the female egg to be a direct computation.She can lay about 50-60 eggs.Cocoons are on the surface of the water.Some females are on their abdomen until until the larvae hatch.
After about 14 days the larvae emerge that remain in the cocoon until the first molt.They feed their own skins and threads.They are cone-shaped, thick, 6-9 mm long.The larva is whitish, it is curved upward.It has side branches and massive dark-colored head.The duration of larval development is 6-8 weeks.The larvae of this beetle as pennywort big meals prefer mixed.They eat plant foods, eat a variety of invertebrates and can attack even tadpoles and gastropods.Usually larvae hunt their prey from ambush.They rise to the surface of the water and catch prey, pokes his head, poured her digestive juices, is ground and taken up in a state of half-digested.Small larvae are harmless, and the major cause considerable harm to fisheries, as eaten in a lot of fish fry.The larvae are then pennywort out on the ground and pupate in the soil.In late summer okrepnuvshy beetle, which emerged from the chrysalis, crawls out of the ground and goes to the pond.It takes about 2 weeks.Stage of development from egg to adult takes about 9-14 weeks.
Lifestyle
water scavenger beetles beetles are diurnal and nocturnal.They do not swim, but it's good crawling along the bottom, and underwater plants.Furthermore, pennywort large power which occurs at least mainly in the water starts to fly at night.He prefers the warm moonlit nights.
These beetles have a lot of enemies.They are protected in two ways, it:
- discharging from the body stinking gruel.
- unpleasant rattle Underwings of the abdomen.
With these above methods pennywort try to scare their enemies.
dangerous to human pennywort large
For a man this kind of beetles does not represent any danger.Since it is found in the water pennywort large habitat.Food did not include various crops belonging to man.So pennywort not harm agriculture and land.Also, these bugs do not eat wood.Accordingly, the timber industry and they are not threatened.
pennywort are not carriers of infectious diseases, and their population is not too large to even potentially be able to harm humans.
