order
![](/images/illustrations/illustration_coleoptera_adult_v_160.png)
Coleoptera
“Adult Beetles”
![](/images/illustrations/illustration_coleoptera_larva_v_160.png)
Coleoptera
“Larval Beetles”
![](/images/illustrations/illustration_diptera_larva_v_160.png)
Diptera
“True Flies”
![](/images/illustrations/illustration_ephemeroptera_larva_v_160.png)
Ephemeroptera
“Mayflies”
![](/images/illustrations/illustration_hemiptera_adult_v_160.png)
Hemiptera
“True Bugs”
![](/images/illustrations/illustration_lepidoptera_larva_v_160.png)
Lepidoptera
“Aquatic Caterpillars, Snout Moths”
![](/images/illustrations/illustration_megaloptera_larva_v_160.png)
Megaloptera
“Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies”
![](/images/illustrations/illustration_odonata_larva_v_160.png)
Odonata
“Dragonflies and Damselflies”
![](/images/illustrations/illustration_plecoptera_larva_v_160.png)
Plecoptera
“Stoneflies”
![](/images/illustrations/illustration_trichoptera_larva_v_160.png)
Trichoptera
“Caddisflies”
family
Dytiscidae
“Predacious Diving Beetle Larvae”
Genus Overview
Larvae and adults occur in slow-moving streams and among rooted plants of lentic habitats; both life stages are piercing predators.
Characteristics
POLLUTION TOLERANCE
Southeast: 9.1 and higher
Midwest: 5 and higher
Mid-Atlantic: 5 and higher
0 = least tolerant, 10 = most tolerant
FEEDING HABITS
Piercer / Predator
MOVEMENT
Climber
Sprawler
Swimmer
Sprawler
Swimmer
DISTRIBUTION
Widespread (east of the Rocky Mtns.)
HABITAT
Lentic-littoral
Lotic-depositional
Lotic-depositional
Diagnostic Characters
Order
![](https://static.macroinvertebrates.org/gigapans/196753/images.84cbeebaa0323d1d06257aefc1c5febc/196753-120x120-1806-2355-1003-1551.jpg)
Eye Spots
![](https://static.macroinvertebrates.org/gigapans/196753/images.84cbeebaa0323d1d06257aefc1c5febc/196753-120x120-4922-6242-442-1762.jpg)
Lateral Gills USUALLY Absent
![](https://static.macroinvertebrates.org/gigapans/196754/images.781ba768863be41a340fb215d8295f64/196754-120x120-7001-8606-820-2424.jpg)
USUALLY 4-5-Segmented Legs
Family
![](https://static.macroinvertebrates.org/gigapans/196754/images.781ba768863be41a340fb215d8295f64/196754-120x120-7001-8606-820-2424.jpg)
5-Segmented Swimming Legs
![](https://static.macroinvertebrates.org/gigapans/196753/images.84cbeebaa0323d1d06257aefc1c5febc/196753-120x120-7009-9759-672-3423.jpg)
8-Segmented Abdomen
![](https://static.macroinvertebrates.org/gigapans/196753/images.84cbeebaa0323d1d06257aefc1c5febc/196753-120x120-866-2186-1315-2635.jpg)
Sickle-Shaped Mandibles
+ Expanded Character List
Order:
Larvae: Usually without lateral abdominal gills. If gills present, then 4 hooks clustered on segment 10. Thoracic legs each usually with 4 or 5 segments and with 1 or 2 claws; if without legs, head distinctly sclerotized and posterior body (thorax and abdomen) simple, without gills, hair brushes, suckers, or breathing tube. Eye spots usually present, but compound eyes absent.
Family:
Larvae approximately 5–70 mm long. Sickle-shaped mandibles without mola (grinding surface). Long, slender swimming legs 5-segmented, excluding 2 claws. Abdomen 8-segmented, lacking hooks on terminal segment, usually without gills. Roughly cylindrical thorax and abdomen tapered to anterior and posterior ends. Cerci (urogomphi) usually 2-segmented, slender and longer than abdominal segment 1, but can be stout, short, inconspicuous, or absent.
Genus:
Mandibles with large and distinct teeth along inner margins. Maxillary galea hooked. Urogomphi each 1-segmented. Tibiae and tarsi without swimming hairs.
![](https://static.macroinvertebrates.org/gigapans/196753/images.84cbeebaa0323d1d06257aefc1c5febc/196753-811x240.jpg)
![](https://static.macroinvertebrates.org/gigapans/196754/images.781ba768863be41a340fb215d8295f64/196754-776x240.jpg)
Dorsal
Ventral