Hygrobiidae

Screech Beetles

The Hygrobiidae is a small family of predaceous beetles whose larvae and adults live mainly in stagnant water. The family contains a single genus, Hygrobia Latreille, and five species: one European and North African, one Chinese, and three Australian. Balfour-Browne (1922) provides an exhaustive account of the life history of Hygrobia hermanni (Fabricius). Franciscolo (1979) and Holmen (1987) describe the morphology and summarize the biology of the species. Franciscolo's Fig. 246 of the distribution of Hygrobia species is confusing because it is missing portions of its legend.

Checklist of Genera

Literature Cited

Balfour-Browne, F.

• 1922. The life-history of the water-beetle Pelobius tardus Herbst. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1922(1):79-96 + 3 pls.

• 1979. Fauna d'Italia, vol. xiv. Coleoptera Haliplidae, Hygrobiidae, Gyrinidae, Dytiscidae. Calderini, Bologna. vi-804.

• 1987. The aquatic Adephaga (Coleoptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. I. Gyrinidae, Haliplidae, Hygrobiidae and Noteridae. Fauna Entomol. Scandinavica 20:1-168.