Whirligig Beetle

colour photo of a black coloured beetle under water on a white surface

Whirligig Beetle

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Coleoptera

Family: Gyrinidae

These little beetles are lots of fun to watch as they swim erratically on the surface of the water, whirling and gigging around. To help them out in their lifestyle on the boundary between water and air, their eyes are actually divided into two sets! One set of eyes look upwards above the water, while the other set looks downwards underwater. This helps them to keep an eye out for both small prey and danger all around them.