Predaceous diving beetle Coloring Pages

The Hunter in the Water! The Predaceous diving beetle!

The Predaceous diving beetle is a super strong and cool "king of the water" among insects that live in the water! It swims around freely and smoothly in clean ponds and marshes, just like a tiny submarine!

How It Got Its Name: Where Does the Name Come From?

There are a few different stories about how the Predaceous diving beetle got its Japanese name.

• Legend says that a long time ago, a person named "Gengoro" first found this insect, or turned into it!

• Some people say its Japanese name comes from the words "swimming smoothly," because it is such a great swimmer!

• In Kanji, its name is written as "Gengorou", or sometimes "Kamenoko-mushi" because it looks like a turtle shell!

When can you see the Predaceous diving beetle?

The Predaceous diving beetle is active and energetic during the warm months, mostly from around April to October.

• From spring to summer, they move around a lot to lay eggs and catch prey.

• When winter comes, it sleeps quietly under fallen leaves or in the mud at the bottom of the water to spend the winter.

Where do they live?

The Predaceous diving beetle loves calm ponds and marshes with lots of water plants.

• A long time ago, there were a lot of them in rice paddies. But now, they can only live in places where the water is super clean.

• You might find one if you look around nature-rich countryside hills or clean waters where farmers do not use chemicals.

What do they eat?

Both grown-up and baby Predaceous diving beetles are meat-eaters.

• Grown-up Predaceous diving beetles eat weak little fish, tadpoles, and bugs that fall into the water.

• They are super good at smelling food in the water using senses just like a sharp nose.

A master swimmer! The secret of its back legs

Look at the back legs of the Predaceous diving beetle. They are much thicker and longer than its other legs, aren't they?

• Predaceous diving beetle Insect Summer Predaceous diving beetle Coloring Page - Insect Nurie Zukan This is a coloring page of a Predaceous diving beetle. You can download it for free! Print it out at home and color it in! Choose your difficulty level Easy A simple coloring page. Great for little kids and beginners! Download Easy Medium A slightly detailed coloring page. Recommended for kids who love coloring! Download Medium Hard A very realistic coloring page! Give it a try if you want a challenge! Download Hard Predaceous diving beetle Fun Facts It is an insect that swims in water! It uses its back legs like oars to swim fast. It catches food with its sharp jaws! Look closely at real pictures while you color!

  On its back legs, lots of tiny hairs grow.

• These act like a boat's "oars". They push the water hard so it can swim super fast!

The Predaceous diving beetle can breathe even underwater!

The Predaceous diving beetle is an insect, so it breathes air to live, just like humans do.

• Predaceous diving beetle

  It sticks the tip of its bottom out of the water to store air inside its wings before it dives!

• It is like carrying an air tank between its back and belly, so it can stay underwater for a long time.

Tough-Looking Larva: Underwater Tiger!

Predaceous diving beetle kids (larvae) look completely different from the adults.

• It looks super scary, so people call it the "water tiger" in English!

• They have big, sharp jaws like sickles. They bravely face prey that is even bigger than they are!

The Predaceous diving beetle is a very rare creature now

Actually, the number of Predaceous diving beetles has dropped a lot compared to long ago.

• Now, it is protected as an "endangered species." That means it is a precious living creature that we worry might disappear.

• Let's take good care of clean nature so the Predaceous diving beetle can live there.

How they spend their whole life

Predaceous diving beetles grow up in this order: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. They belong to a group of insects that undergo complete metamorphosis!

• When the larva stage ends, it leaves the water. Then, it makes its own little room in the soil by the shore and turns into a pupa.

• They get ready slowly in the soil, and once they become fine adult Predaceous diving beetles, they go back into the water.

How to Choose Colors: Make It Cool with Deep Colors!

An adult Predaceous diving beetle is not just black. It has a very pretty color!

• Main body color: Try coloring with "deep olive green" or dark brown that looks almost black. If you mix in a little green, it will look just like a real one.

• The cool edge pattern: Around the chest and wings, there is a "pretty yellow or orange" border. If you color this clearly, it will stand out and look super cool!

• Belly color: The belly side is a lighter brown or yellow than its back.

Make It Look Shiny and Smooth!

The body of a Predaceous diving beetle is very smooth so it can glide through the water.

• Add shiny light spots: Leave the highest part of the back white, or color it with a light color.

• Think about shine: When using colored pencils, press down firmly to make it look smooth and shiny like plastic!

Color the Larva Patterns Carefully!

The larva coloring page has lots of body parts, which is super cool.

• Body color: The larva is "light brown" or "beige." It looks like the color of mud.

• Dot patterns: Tap gently with a slightly darker brown on the little dots and lines. This makes it feel real and alive!

• Sharp jaws: The big jaws on its face look the strongest. Color them with "dark brown" to make them look sharp!

Show the "Hairs" on the Back Legs!

• Hairs for swimming: Move your pencil quickly to draw the thin hair lines on the back legs. It will look like it is swimming strong in the water!

Draw More of the Water World!

• Underwater background: Draw water plants around it like "hornwort" or "water hyacinth," or add water bubbles. This makes a fun scene of the Predaceous diving beetle swimming happily!

• Water color: Do not just color the water blue. Mix in bright light blue like sunlight shining through, or a little deep green. It will look just like a real pond!

Diving with Air under Their Tails

The Predaceous diving beetle lives in the water, but it needs air just like people do. Before diving into the water, adults store plenty of air bubbles under their "bottoms (the gap under their wings)" and use it to breathe. That is why it looks so cute when they poke just their bottoms out of the water.

The Secret to Swimming is "Hair" on Their Legs

The Predaceous diving beetle is good at flying in the sky, but it is even better at swimming in the water. The secret is the thick "hair" growing on its back legs. This hair acts like a fan and pushes a lot of water backward, so it can swim super fast.

Larvae are "Underwater Gangsters"

Predaceous diving beetle larvae look totally different from the adults. They are long and thin, like a praying mantis (take a look at the coloring page image!). They are very hungry creatures and catch fish or tadpoles bigger than themselves to eat. That is why they have the scary nickname "Underwater Gangsters."

In Danger of Going Extinct

A long time ago, you could see many of them in Japanese rice fields and ponds. But now, the water has become dirty and their homes are disappearing, so there are very few left. Many types of Predaceous diving beetle have become very rare insects that are named as "endangered species" by the country.