Common name:burrowing water beetles
Number of species: 2
Size Range: 4-5mm
Tarsi: 5-5-5.
Description:
Formerly part of Dytiscidae, this group has only two representatives in the British Isles. Both species are found mainly in stagnant water in association with floating rafts of vegetation, often burrowing through mud at the bottom of the pond. Unusually, members of this family pupate in cocoons attached to the roots of water plants. The predatory adults can be recognised by the presence of a ‘noterid platform’, a plate between the second and third pairs of legs.
Noteridae is a family of adephagan water beetles closely related to the Dytiscidae, and formerly classified with them. They are mainly distinguished by the presence of a distinctive “noterid platform” underneath, in the form of a plate between the second and third pair of legs. The family consists of about 230 species in 14 genera, and is found worldwide, more commonly in the tropics. They are sometimes referred to as burrowing water beetles.
These beetles are relatively small, ranging from 1 to 6 mm, with smooth oval bodies ranging from light brown to a darker reddish brown. The head is short and somewhat covered by the prothorax.
Both adults and larvae are aquatic, and are commonly found around plants. They have a habit of burrowing through pond and marsh substrate, thus the common name, and are primarily carnivorous, with some scavenging observed.
The burrowing water beetles (Noteridae) are small beetles of oval shape, very similar and closely related to the diving beetles (Dytiscidae), formerly classified with them. They can be distinguished by their plate-like hind coxae, covering the trochantin. More than 200 species have been described worldwide, thereof only two are recorded from Germany. They are found in stagnant water or quiet streams from the lowland to the low mountain range. Both adults and larvae are predators on small invertebrates, or scavengers. The larvae have a habit of burrowing through the substrate on the bottom of ponds and marshes. They pupate in the water.
Numbers
14 spp. in 6 genera in our area [all but one present in FL], 250 spp. in 16 genera of 3 subfamilies worldwide
Identification
see
Range
most of our spp. occur in se. US, FL fauna being the richest, with 13 spp. representing all 6 genera; worldwide, more diverse in warmer climes, esp. in the tropics
Habitat
mostly in standing water, usually associated with algae, plants and plant roots
Food
Adults are predacious; larvae may be omnivorous
Ecology
Geographic Distribution:
Notoridae are distributed throughout the world in a wide variety of habitats. North American Notoridae typically associated with filamentous algae and can be found in ponds with cat tails .
From 2003 to 2006 in the Smoky Mountains, in Tennessee, 115 species were collected; two belonged to the family Notoridae. The climate was generally mild with a prolonged warm season .
Noterus laevis is found in stagnant water with rich vegetation, but sometimes can be found in flowing water. The species has an altitudinal range between 2 and 255 meters
Notoridae studied in Tunisia were found at altitudes ranging from 1 to 499 meters .
Habitat:
Found around plants, burrowing through ponds and marsh substrate .
Larvae burrow in the stems of aquatic plants, where the larvae use their spiracles, located on the abdomen to attach to the inside of the plant. The noterid larvae beings the formation of a cocoon, initiating the next phase in its life cycle, the pupa phase. Trapped air within the stem allows for the encased pupa to respire while growing into an adult.
Feeding Ecology:
The Burrowing Water beetle is categorized as carnivorous with some scavenging genre. Noteridae is one of three families within Coleoptera that are predacious hydradephagen diving beetles that capture their prey while actively swimming .
Genetics/Evolution:
Noteridae and Dytiscidae possess similar body structures, such as the metacoxal articulation, smooth bodylines without proturbances, and modified hind legs that allow for thrusting through the water. Their swimming differs from the Hygrobia, which utilizes the “dog paddle,” swimming with all three sets of legs .
Males within the genus Hydrocanthus possess a conjoined impression of the prosternal process and metasternal keel, which is typically distinctly dish-like when viewed from below .
Relationships between different species of Noteridae can be determined by the morphology of the front legs. For example, Mesonoterus has a single spur that is not as enlarged or as strongly curved. Therefore, represents an intermediate between more evolved Noteridae .
There are 230 species in 12 genera in the Noteridae family and larvae and adults range from 1-5mm in length .
