New Open Aquarium System to Breed Larvae of Water Beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)

Feeding habits of the diving beetle larvae, Cybister brevis Aubé (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) in Japanese wetlands

“…This may have induced the differences in adult body length between the two treatments. Interestingly, larvae of C. brevis did not eat tadpoles, although the larvae of large-bodied diving beetles, Dytiscus beetles and Cybister japonicus, feed on anuran larvae (Young, 1967;Brodie and Formanowicz, 1983;Johansson and Nilsson, 1992;Inoda and Kamimura, 2004;Ohba, 2009). The different feeding habits might be attributable to differences in the digestive enzymes between the species, as identified previously in predatory belostomatid bugs (Swart et al, 2006).…”

Gonad development and sperm motility of the diving beetleCybister brevisAubé, 1838 (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) in response to seasonal changes in Japan

“…The habitat was a swamp, and the water depth was 20À30 cm. The collected beetles were kept the entire year, from September to September, in aquaria (74 £ 39 £ 40 cm, containing 20 cm of water) according to the method used previously (Inoda and Kamimura 2004;Inoda 2011aInoda , 2011b. All aquaria were placed outdoors to simulate breeding conditions in the natural climate; the temperature and day length were not controlled, and the aquaria were exposed to rain and sunlight.…”

Choice of Prey Body Parts for Effective Feeding by Predaceous Diving Beetle Larvae, Dytiscus sharpi sharpi (Wehncke) (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)

“…Dytiscus sharpi sharpi (Wehncke) (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) used in the experiments were bred and kept in outdoor aquaria as reported previously (see Inoda 2003;Inoda and Kamimura 2004;Inoda et al 2009). The beetle larvae of first (body length, 17.9-18.1 mm), second (24.9-25.1 mm) and third (39.9-40.1 mm) instar stages were used.…”

“…Tadpoles of R. ornativentris were provided as food during the growth of beetle larvae. The rearing methods of the larvae were as described previously (Inoda and Kamimura 2004;Inoda et al 2009). Collecting wild D. sharpi sharpi is currently restricted by law (Ministry of the Environment and Japan 2011), but the insects used in this work had been collected and reared before the law came into effect.…”

“…In our previous studies, tadpoles of R. ornativentris were shown to be suitable food to rear larval D. sharpi sharpi under captive breeding conditions (Inoda and Kamimura 2004;Inoda et al 2009;Inoda 2012;Inoda and Kitano 2013).…”