File: <hygrobii.htm>

COLEOPTERA, Hygrobiidae

Hygrobiidae is a small family which is closely related to Dytiscidae. They are aquatic, living in ponds rather than streams. Food preferences of Hygrobia hermani F. (= Pelobius tardus Hbst.) were studied by Balfour-Browne (1922a). Adults are found in mud at the bottom of ponds, and females lay their eggs in rows on the submerged stems of aquatic plants. The larvae feed on worms and the immature stages of the less active aquatic insects. The mature larva leaves the water to pupate, and forms a cells in the soil 5 cm. or more beneath the surface. A single generation occurs annually, and overwintering is as adults in the mud at the pond bottom (Clausen 1940).

References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [ Additional references may be found at: MELVYL Library ]