Helophorus aequalis
Water Scavenger Beetles of the family Hydrophilidae are a strange lot. Some are big black beetles and excellent swimmers, others are much smaller, sometimes even colourful, living on land, not even capable of swimming. Diving Beetles take air with them by keeping it under the elytrae. That's why you can see them breathing by sticking their back side out of the water. Water Scavenger Beetles use their antennae to push air under their body, where it is hold bij many hairs present there. Except for some bigger species many are not good swimmers and they just crawl over the plants. Helophorus aequalis belongs to a genus of which some members live in the water and others don't. A close relative even is a pest in rape-seed. Helophorus aequalis is always found near water, hardly ever in it. The larvae however do live in the water and are fierce predators.
Scientists still examine this family. Nowadays the genus Helophorus is often considered to be a family of its own called Helophoridae. Others consider the Helophorus genus as a subfamily of the Water Scavenger Beetles called Helophorinae. We stick to the old situation untill more consensus is reached.
