--- title: Dystiscidae Diving Beetles May Help Scuba Divers description: Male diving beetles have adhesive plungers on their forelegs — a feature that could inspire designs of underwater equipment used by humans canonical: https://time.com/2856656/diving-beetles-scuba-divers/ author: Melissa Hellmann article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-11T09:59:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:20:42.146Z article:section: Science og:title: Dystiscidae Diving Beetles May Help Scuba Divers og:description: Male diving beetles have adhesive plungers on their forelegs — a feature that could inspire designs of underwater equipment used by humans og:url: https://time.com/2856656/diving-beetles-scuba-divers/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64601f52a29c06e4/698697083bc9994ce11a404e/145110829.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 145110829 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Dystiscidae Diving Beetles May Help Scuba Divers twitter:description: Male diving beetles have adhesive plungers on their forelegs — a feature that could inspire designs of underwater equipment used by humans twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64601f52a29c06e4/698697083bc9994ce11a404e/145110829.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Diving Beetles Could One Day Help Scuba Divers by [Melissa Hellmann](https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Jun 11, 2014 9:59 AM UTC  A large Diving Beetle plunges into the water. A large Diving Beetle plunges into the water.Barrett & MacKay—Getty Images/All Canada Photos by [Melissa Hellmann](https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Jun 11, 2014 9:59 AM UTC Male diving beetles have adhesive [plungers](http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27781319) on their forelegs that allow them to hold onto their female mating partners, a recent study published in _Journal of the Royal Society Interface_ reports. And the effectiveness of those plungers could point ways forward for the design of human underwater equipment. The team of researchers from Taiwan saw that female underwater beetles in the _dystiscidae_ family squirmed to avoid copulation with an undesirable suitor, triggering a need for the adaptation in the males’ legs. The team of scientists, led by Dr Kai-Jung Chi from National Chung Hsing University, compared the [gripping](http://news.sciencemag.org/evolution/2014/06/sexual-arms-race-gave-male-beetles-sticky-feet?rss=1) features of two species of male aquatic beetles — one that had spatula-shaped bristles and a more evolved diving beetle that had suction-cup-shaped pads. Researchers found that the primitive beetles released a glue-like secretion, but the beetles with the circular plungers on their legs were able to withstand seven times more force than the others — proving that the suction cup posed a sexual advantage. Scientists hope that the success of the male aquatic beetles’ adhesive legs will help inspire innovations in aquatic equipment such as the attachments used by underwater rescuers or scuba divers. 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