diving beetle

American  

noun

1. any of numerous predaceous water beetles of the family Dytiscidae, having the body adapted for swimming.

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diving beetle British  

noun

1. any of the aquatic predatory beetles of the widely distributed family Dytiscidae, characterized by flattened hindlegs adapted for swimming and diving

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Example Sentences

While these tangles are tight, the earliest sign of a predatory diving beetle will send the fleshy worms squirming in all directions.

From Scientific American

Crisscrossing low-lying fields and saltmarshes are 900 miles worth of ancient drainage ditches - known locally as "reens" - home to hundreds of endangered species, including water voles, the king diving beetle and rootless duckweed, the world's smallest flowering plant.

From BBC

Next, Valdez plans to quantify diving beetle predation on various amphibians.

From Scientific American

This spectacular tarsus — the lowermost segment of an insect leg — is roughly 2 millimetres in diameter and belongs to a male diving beetle, which uses it to attach to a female’s back during mating.

From Nature

The diving beetle, Capelatus prykei, is about two-fifths of an inch long — large compared with other diving beetles.

From New York Times