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Guide to New Zealand's freshwater invertebrates
Water scavenger beetle
(
Hydrophilidae
: Laccobius
)
Diagnostic features
Laccobius is a hydrophilid beetle with a larva that has asymetrical mandibles (the two sickle-like jaws are not the same shape). The adults are active swimmers with a generally oval, 6-segmented abdomen. The adult antennae are 8-segmented (the last 3 segments enlarged to form a club) and usually tucked under the head.
Typical habitats
Laccobius can be found in a range of freshwater habitats including in geothermally heated waters.
Feeding
The larval mouthparts suggest they are predators, but the adults may also scavenge on streambed detritus.
Indicator value
Species found in geothermal waters may be tolerant of some unusual conditions and so they may not be good indicators of water quality. This genus has not been assigned tolerance values but the hydrophilids have family scores of 5 (hard bottom sites) and 8.0 (soft bottom sites).
