Latest Water beetle Stories

The research program AQUA Palawana has been exploring the unique freshwater biodiversity of the Philippine Island and biosphere reserve of Palawan for more than a decade. Scientists from the Senckenberg Museum of Zoology Dresden and the Bavarian State Collections of Zoology in Munich have now described larvae and a new species of the curious Spider Water Beetles (Ancyronyx) from this biodiversity hotspot. Their study was realized in cooperation with the Palawan Council for Sustainable...

Roy Orbison and his widow Barbara were honored in a very creative way during a tribute concert for Roy on January 25th.  A new beetle, the whirligig, which looks as if it wears a tuxedo, has been named after the Orbisons. The scientific name for the whirligig is now Orectochilus orbisonorum. The ending of the name, "orum" specifies that the beetle was named for the couple. Had it just been named for Roy it would end in an "i" and for Barbara, it would end in "ae". Along with the honor of...