Giant Black Water Beetle vs Tachydromia Dance Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Giant Black Water Beetle Tachydromia Dance Fly
Scientific Name Hydrophilus triangularis Tachydromia umbrarum
Order Coleoptera Diptera
Family Hydrophilidae Hybotidae
Size 34-40 mm 2-3 mm
Habitat Ponds & Lakes Woodlands
Diet Predators Predators
Regions North America Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Giant Black Water Beetle

The largest water beetle in North America, with a shiny black oval body. Larvae are voracious predators while adults are mainly plant feeders.

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Did You Know?

It carries a bubble of air beneath its body like a silvery film, which it replenishes at the surface.

Tachydromia Dance Fly

A tiny wingless dance fly that runs rapidly over tree bark hunting for small arthropods. Despite being flightless, it is an agile predator of mites and springtails on trunk surfaces.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the few completely wingless flies, sprinting across tree bark at high speed to catch tiny prey.