Acidocerinae
Guides
Helobata larvalis
Pickerelweed Water Beetle
Helobata larvalis is a water scavenger beetle in the family Hydrophilidae, commonly known as the Pickerelweed Water Beetle. It has a broad distribution across the Americas, occurring from the United States through Central America to South America, including Caribbean islands. The species has been recorded from diverse biomes including the Cerrado of Brazil. As a member of the Acidocerinae subfamily, it inhabits aquatic or semi-aquatic environments.
Helochares punctatus
Helochares punctatus is a water scavenger beetle in the family Hydrophilidae, subfamily Acidocerinae. The species is native to the western Palearctic, with records from western Europe (Spain to Denmark), Morocco, and Iran. In the 2020s, it was documented as introduced and established in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, representing a notable range expansion.
Novochares
water scavenger beetles
Novochares is a genus of water scavenger beetles (Hydrophilidae: Acidocerinae) erected in 2021 to accommodate New World species previously placed in Helochares. The genus contains 52 described species distributed across the entire Neotropical region from Mexico to Argentina, including Caribbean islands. Species circumscription relies heavily on male aedeagus morphology due to relatively homogeneous external characteristics. An integrative taxonomic approach combining adult morphology with COI and 28S DNA sequence data was used to delimit species boundaries.