Featured speciesText © K. Reißmann, T. Hörren, M. Stern, F. Bötzl and C. Benisch
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17.09.2021
Dianous coerulescens (Gyll., 1810)
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The 5 to 6 mm large rove beetle Dianous coerulescens (family Staphylinidae) is the only representative of the holarctic and oriental genus in our fauna. Dianous coerulescens is known to occur in North and Central Europe, from the British Isles and Fennoscandia to Italy and the Balkan. The beetles live in the low mountain range and its foreland. They dwell in moss and vegetation at waterfalls, weirs and cold torrents. Representatives of the genera Dianous and stenus show a remarkable skimming behavior: With the hydrophobic lower side of their tarsi the beetles are able to walk on water. While touching the water surface with the tip of their abdomen, they secrete a water-insoluble secretion, which rapidly spreads as a film on the water surface, propelling the beetle at its edge. By bending their abdomen, the beetles are able to actively steer and reach speeds of up to 40 cm/s. (CB)
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