| Common Name |
Riffle Beetle |
| Phylum |
Arthropoda |
| Class |
Insecta |
| Order |
Coleoptera |
| Family |
Elmidae |
| Description |
1-8mm, antennae not included. Usually dark brown or red-brown, occasionally with metallic tints. Each leg has two prominent claws on the end. Their hardened front wings have numerous dot-like indentations. Their antennae are slender and may get larger proceeding away from the head. For more photos, refer to our online gallery: tinyurl.com/u8a2ch7 |
| Habitat |
Usually lotic-erosional but also lentic-littoral. Commonly found in fast-moving portions of streams. Most species of Elmidae can be found on stones and gravelly substrate. Others can be found under decaying woody debris and in water moss. |
| Feeding Information |
Scrapers. Most feed on periphyton (algae, cyanobacteria, heterotrophic microbes, and detritus attached to substrate). |
| Water Quality Tolerance |
Mostly facultative, others somewhat sensitive. |
| References |
Voshell & Wright. 2002. |
