Talk:Thermonectus marmoratus

Insects C‑class Low‑importance

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As pets

These beetles are remarkably easy to keep in captivity. They will not try to leave the water. A cheap vase from a thrift store (clear glass) and a water plant from a tropical fish store with LED illumination is all you need to make a desk ornament. (Then you have to catch the beetles, of course.) They do eat fish food. Once they are well-fed and established, they will disappear (hide) and stay underwater for more than an hour at a time. They also eat any kind of insect that happens to fall in the water. When well-fed, they will play with food, stealing it from one another like birds but not eating it. From observing them, I hypothesize that they have some way to tell the other beetles of their species that food is present, either by underwater sounds or a pheromone. This helps to explain the "swarming a prey item" mentioned in the article; they are somewhat social. I also suggest that their bite is poisonous to insects, because as soon as they bite an insect that falls in the water, the prey stops moving. 173.174.85.204 (talk) 02:38, 5 July 2016 (UTC)Eric[reply]