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- ›Rove, Ant-like stone, and Carrion Beetles
- ›Rove Beetles
- ›Water Skater Beetles
Stenus
Stenus is a genus of semiaquatic rove beetles in the subfamily Steninae, and one of the largest genera in the kingdom Animalia, with some 3100 known species worldwide (only the beetle genus Agrilus is comparable in size). They are predators of Collembola and other small arthropods. Adults have a protrusible labium with a sticky tip used in prey capture. To overcome the rapid escape of Collembola, the labium is protruded at high speed (1-3 ms in Stenus comma) by hemolymph pressure, and immediately withdrawn (withdrawn in 30-40 ms in Stenus comma), pulling the prey within the range of the mandibles. However, the labium tip does not easily stick to prey covered in scales or setae or that have a large body size. Stenus comma is more likely to catch such prey by lunging forward and grabbing them directly with its mandibles rather than using its labium. Stenus species are also known for "skimming" on the water surface using their pygidial gland secretions that act as a surfactant and rapidly propel the beetle fast forward, a phenomenon known as the Marangoni effect. Stenus comma has been seen to achieve a velocity of 0.75 m/s, and to cover a distance of up to 15 m
if the secretion is continuous.
60 branches of this genus, most-observed first
Stenus bimaculatus
speciesStenus bimaculatus
Stenus clavicornis
speciesStenus clavicornis
Stenus similis
speciesStenus similis
Stenus cicindeloides
speciesStenus cicindeloides
Stenus comma
speciesStenus comma
Stenus juno
speciesStenus juno
Stenus impressus
speciesStenus impressus
Stenus flavipes
speciesStenus flavipes
Stenus ater
speciesStenus ater
Stenus pustulifer
speciesStenus pustulifer
Stenus longipes
speciesStenus longipes
Stenus guttula
speciesStenus guttula
Stenus sculptilis
speciesStenus sculptilis
Stenus humilis
speciesStenus humilis
Stenus fossulatus
speciesStenus fossulatus
Stenus flavicornis
speciesStenus flavicornis
Stenus solutus
speciesStenus solutus
Stenus colon
speciesStenus colon
Stenus fulvicornis
speciesStenus fulvicornis
Stenus biguttatus
speciesStenus biguttatus
Stenus palposus
speciesStenus palposus
Stenus boops
speciesStenus boops
Stenus brunnipes
speciesStenus brunnipes
Stenus annularis
speciesStenus annularis
Stenus bifoveolatus
speciesStenus bifoveolatus
Stenus providus
speciesStenus providus
Stenus aceris
speciesStenus aceris
Stenus nitidiusculus
speciesStenus nitidiusculus
Stenus aterrimus
speciesStenus aterrimus
Stenus ochropus
speciesStenus ochropus
Stenus ossium
speciesStenus ossium
Stenus picipes
speciesStenus picipes
Stenus palustris
speciesStenus palustris
Stenus kiesenwetteri
speciesStenus kiesenwetteri
Stenus arisanus
speciesStenus arisanus
Stenus canaliculatus
speciesStenus canaliculatus
Stenus binotatus
speciesStenus binotatus
Stenus picipennis
speciesStenus picipennis
Stenus lustrator
speciesStenus lustrator
Stenus laccophilus
speciesStenus laccophilus
Stenus fornicatus
speciesStenus fornicatus
Stenus bifenestratus
speciesStenus bifenestratus
Stenus melanarius
speciesStenus melanarius
Stenus tarsalis
speciesStenus tarsalis
Stenus incrassatus
speciesStenus incrassatus
Stenus nigritulus
speciesStenus nigritulus
Stenus mammops
speciesStenus mammops
Stenus latifrons
speciesStenus latifrons
Stenus alienus
speciesStenus alienus
Stenus tenuipes
speciesStenus tenuipes
Stenus punctatus
speciesStenus punctatus
Stenus maculatus
speciesStenus maculatus
Stenus morio
speciesStenus morio
Stenus appalachianus
speciesStenus appalachianus
Stenus pallitarsis
speciesStenus pallitarsis
Stenus geniculatus
speciesStenus geniculatus
Stenus kolbei
speciesStenus kolbei
Stenus excubitor
speciesStenus excubitor
Stenus pusillus
speciesStenus pusillus
Stenus retrusus
speciesStenus retrusus
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Stenus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 131962.