Chinese diving beetle
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The Chinese diving beetle lays its eggs inside thick plant stems.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Chinese diving beetle
- Scientific name
- Cybister chinensis
- Japanese name
- ゲンゴロウ
- Group
- Insects
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Coleoptera
- Family
- Dytiscidae
- Genus
- Cybister
It is also listed under the scientific name Cybister japonicus.
A beetle of ponds, marshes, rice paddies and slow rivers that eats insects, dead frogs and the like.
It swims well using its hind legs. Underwater, it breathes air stored under its wing covers.
The larvae catch insects and small fish with their sharp jaws and suck out the juices.
How the Chinese diving beetle lives
Larvae can be seen around early summer. Adults also fly to lights.
愛媛県Basic data
- Conservation status in Japan
- Vulnerable (VU)Ministry of the Environment of Japan, Red List 2020
Where the Chinese diving beetle has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 多摩動物公園 — ゲンゴロウChecked: 2026-11-03
- 愛媛県 — ゲンゴロウChecked: 2026-11-05
- Ministry of the Environment of Japan, Red List 2020Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The conservation status in Japan is the category in the Red Lists of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, which assess the risk of extinction for wild animals in Japan.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Chinese diving beetle, look for this
- Look for the suction cups on a male’s front legs.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
多摩動物公園EXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Chinese diving beetle
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
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