All beetles from the Dytiscidae family are good swimmers and this certainly applies to the Agabus species. Their streamlined body and powerful, fringed hind and middle legs allow them to dart quickly through the water. And thus, photos that do these beautiful animals justice don't come easy. Even worse, most beetles want to crawl away under stones or plants.

This is a male specimen, as can be seen by the suction cups (hairs) under the tarsi of the front and middle legs. I seems to me that with many Dytiscids the males also differ in that they have two hairfringes on the hind legs, while the females only have one, but I have not found this confirmed anywhere. But, for example, take a look at the specimen Agabus undulatus, captured at the same time as this beetle, which has hind legs with a single hairfringe.

The legs show the tibial spurs, the long thorny projections that probably help the beetle when crawling. The relative length of the hindlimb spurs is a characteristic in the identification of the species of this genus. In this case, the longest spur is less long than the first tarsal segment.

Click on the images below to see other photos of Agabus sturmii.

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