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Hydrophilus piceus male, 11-10-2007
enlargeMale, head
A JEWEL OF A BEETLE, AND WITH ITS 4 CM A BIG JEWEL.
Hydrophilus piceus vrouwtje, mei 1978
bottom view female enlarge
The beautiful, peaceful animal with its black body that contrasts superb with the glistening silver of the air layer on the belly side, is a welcome guest in the net of every pond hunter. There's a shadow over the joy of such a meeting: the numbers of the spinning water beetles have diminished dramatically over the last decennia. The waters where they live are still being destroyed by the ongoing urbanisation and modern agriculture water management. Enough reason to put it back into its wet world, though a few photo's won't harm - good to show people there's more than dirt in the ditches.

PHOTOS by Vincent van Wigbelt: Beetle spins nest
Hydrophilus piceus manle in hand, 11-10-2007
Out of the water the
antenna are extended.
Hydrophilus piceus male in hand, belly side 11-10-2007
The belly side with
the feltlike hair cover.
Little silver beetle, 11-10-2007
Little silver beetle
The Great Spinning Beetle is a "nice handfull of beetle". Much larger than the Small Silver Beetle, pictured at the same scale on the right. Both beetles where in one and the same haul of the net, what I call a lucky strike! The Small Silver Beetle by the way is also one of the larger water beetles, because most species are sized just a few millimeters.


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COPYRIGHT:
All pictures on this site were made by Gerard Visser (Aadorp, Netherlands), unless stated otherwise. All rights remain with him. These pictures may not be used for purposes any other than private viewing or printing. Do NOT hardlink to these pictures or place them on other websites without the author's approval. Should you need them for purposes which include third parties, you must ask the author permission by e-mail. People, who want to use this pictures for exhibitions or publications or educative material are much encouraged to do so, after approval as mentioned and giving the normal credits.
© G.H. Visser 15-10-2007
rev. 28-03-2010


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