Predaceous Diving Beetle (Cybister fimbriolatus)

Observation: This morning my co-worker came to me and said that she had taken photos of a strange, large beetle from the parking lot area of Maniilaq housing. She stated that it "fell from the sky" onto her vehicle and when it flew, it made clicking noise. She took two photos of it, one near an ice scraper for size comparison. Our other co-worker stated that while he was cutting willows south of Kotzebue he saw several that were much bigger than this. Invasive insects in our community need to be monitored. We have never seen these beetles before, and we don't know what they eat (it could be berries, or insects). When new insects are introduced into an ecosystem, it throws it off. We don't want to see the impact huge flying beetles have on our land. Maija Lukin

Forest Health Conditions in Alaska Consult: Elizabeth Graham, Forest Entomologist writes, " A predaceous diving beetle. They feed on other insects and are generally considered beneficial." Source: US Forest Service, Juneau, Southeast Field Office

Cooperative Extension Service Consult: Jessie Moan, Statewide IPM Technician writes, "There are no records for diving beetles in Kotzebue in the museum collection. This is likely due to a general lack of information on insect ranges in Alaska. There are records for predaceous diving beetles in northwest Alaska, just not specifically Kotzebue." Source: University of Alaska Fairbanks

Resources:

Forest Heatlh Protection – Alaska Forest Insect and Disease Surveys, "Aerial surveys (map1_as2011_rfs.pdf 5.98MB) are an effective and economical means of monitoring and mapping insect, disease and other forest disturbance at a coarse level." Source: Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry