Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-30
THE GREAT WATER BEETLE.

The Rev Theodore Wood writing in the
London Tribune about the great water
beetle says
A good many beetles live in the water,
and 1 should like to tell you something
about one which is very common in al
most every weedy pond. 1t Is called the
Great Water Beetle, and If you should
catch 1t you may know it at once, for 1t
has a broad yellow band all round the
middle part of its body and another one
down the outer edge of each wing case,
and dull yellow beneath. 1t is about an
inch and a quarter in length.
This beetle is interesting for several
reasons. In the first place, 1t is q very
Of boat. and it rows itself through the
water by means of its hind legs which
are made just like oars. They are very
long, very broad. very fiat, and good
edges runs a row of stiff bristles. placed
So closely side by side that water can
not pass between them. If you watch
a great water beetle swimming you will
notice that he uses these legs just as a
rover uses his oars; and they are fas-
tened to his body in such q way that, as
he brings them forward after making
stroke, they turn sidewise, SO that their
sharp edges may cut their way through
the water and offer as little resistance
to it as possible. A water beetle "feath-
ers'' his legs. in fact, just as a human
rover feathers" his oars.
Of course, these legs are not of very
much use for walking; but, as the beetle
never comes on dry land, that does not
matter. If you want to play little
trick upon the beetle, however, the way
middle of a saucer. He tries very hard
to turn over, but his swimming legs
cannot take any hold of the slippery
plate, and the only result Of his strug-
erla, 10 TO nd
round faster and faster and faster, till
at last you cannot see the beetle at all.
The only thing that you can see is a
brown blur in the middle of the saucer,
and 1 should think that the poor beetle
must get dreadfully giddy.
Then, in the second place, this beetle
can dive very we'll. 1 don't merely mean
| that it can swim under water. I mean
that it can stop under water for very
| long time. although it breathes air just
! as you and 1 do. Indeed, it can easily
remain under water for an hour, or even
| for an hour and a half The fact Is that
| it is able to carry down good deal of
air with it. If you look at the beetle
sidewise you will notice that It's wing
| cases are a good deal arched. and If you
| were to lift them up you would find that
| its body underneath them was a good
deal followed. The consequence is, of
! course, that a good deal of space is left
as sort of air cistern, and just before
it dives the beetle fills it with fresh air.
SO when 1t is under water 1t can breathe
quite easily until this supply of air is all
used up.
Then, in the third place, this beetle
can fly very well. Underneath Its wing
cases it has pair of broad and powerful
wings, and almost every night 1t leaves
the pond and goes for a good long fight
in the air. And when 1t wants to return
to the water it does SO in very odd
way Instead of flying down to the edge
and then crawling in. it hovers at a
height above the surface and suddenly
folds it's wings, so that IT drops into
the water with a splash.
Only sometimes 1t makes a rather odd
mistake. Flying over q greenhouse on
a moonlight night, it sees the moon
beams glittering on the glass roof, and
mistakes it for water. So 1t folds its
wings and drops. often with such force
that for some little time 1t is completely
stunned by the fall