science

Hydrophilus piceus

Hydrophilus piceus is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hydrophilus piceus rather than just read about it. In short: Hydrophilus piceus is a species of beetles in the family Hydrophilidae, the water scavenger beetles. This very large aquatic beetle is found in the Palearctic and is known by the common name great silver water beetle.

Key takeaways

Hydrophilus piceus belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hydrophilus piceus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hydrophilus piceus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hydrophilus piceus is a species of beetles in the family Hydrophilidae, the water scavenger beetles. This very large aquatic beetle is found in the Palearctic and is known by the common name great silver water beetle.

Description This beetle is among the largest aquatic insects. Adults can reach up to 5–5.15 cm (1.97–2.03 in) in length and 2.05 cm (0.81 in) in width. The larvae are up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long. The body of adults is black with a greenish or olive sheen. It has protruding eyes and reddish-black antennae.

Biology

This beetle lives in aquatic environments. In some regions it can be found in lakes and ponds. In Greece it can be found in lagoons and estuaries. It has been found at elevations of up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft). In Great Britain it lives in ditches with thick vegetation in marshy areas. The beetle is omnivorous but favors plant material. It can live for up to three years but most individuals die after breeding during their first year. The larvae feed on freshwater snails of the family Lymnaeidae, drilling holes into the shells to feed on the animals. The grubs can then reach 7 cm (2.8 in) long before pupating in the mud. In the spring, the adult female spins a cocoon, fills it with eggs, and sets it afloat.

Distribution This beetle is native to the western Palearctic realm, where it occurs throughout much of Eurasia, its distribution extending from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, North Africa, and Russia, and as far east as India and China. Its distribution is not continuous because it has been extirpated from some areas; it is considered to be extinct in Norway and Luxembourg, for example. It is rare in some regions, being found only in specific and relictual habitat types.

References

External links Hydrophilus piceus. Fauna Europaea. Bumblebee.org

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hydrophilus piceus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hydrophilus piceus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hydrophilus piceus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hydrophilus piceus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hydrophilus piceus

In research: Hydrophilus piceus appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hydrophilus piceus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hydrophilus piceus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus, Beetles described in 1758, Beetles of Asia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hydrophilus piceus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hydrophilus piceus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hydrophilus piceus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hydrophilus piceus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hydrophilus piceus in simple terms?

Why does Hydrophilus piceus matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hydrophilus piceus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hydrophilus piceus.