Rock 'n' Roll 'n' Twirl
Gyrating beetle named for Roy and Barbara Orbison
As their common name suggests, whirligig beetles may be observed rapidly gyrating on the surface of streams, ponds and lakes. Oval in shape and typically uniform in color, you are most likely to notice them when they are swimming and when in large aggregations where movements are especially chaotic. These beetles can dive and fly, but spend most of their time cruising the surface. They are predators and scavengers. Waves made ahead of them while swimming reflect back allowing them to echolocate and avoid objects. Threatened, they secrete a defensive chemical called gyrindal that repulses fish and other predators. An organ in their antenna detects disturbances on the water, assisting them in locating struggling prey and warning the group of danger.
What impresses me most about gyrinids are their eyes. They are divided horizontally so that they appear to have four, rather than two. As they swim on the surface of water, one pair sees above the water line, the other below. They feed on floating detritus and prey at the surface, but are capable of staying under water for extended periods of time. This is accomplished by an air bubble beneath the elytra or hardened forewings. In well oxygenated water, this acts as a physical gill.
Orectochilus orbisonorum, lateral view, by Charles Kazilek. Note divided eyes and white underside.
Gyrinids deposit eggs in rows on submerged vegetation. Their larvae are predatory with curved, pointy mandibles that have a canal through which to suck bodily fluids from prey. When swimming against the current, they may draft in the wake of a beetle in front of them gaining an energy advantage, like a cyclist in a paceline.
Whirligigs are ellipsoid in shape, from 3 to 18mm long. They are worldwide in distribution, and upwards of a thousand species have been named. Their exoskeleton is coated with a hydrophobic, waxy later. This and their shape and hardness make them difficult to grasp without them popping from your fingers. Their middle and hind legs are adapted for swimming, being flattened and lined with fringes of bristles. Their front legs are long and used to grab food items. The front legs of males have sucker pads that are used to hold onto females while copulating.
In 2008, the Arizona State University Center for Film, Media and Popular Culture honored rock and roll legend Roy Orbison, twenty years after his death, with a posthumous lifetime achievement award, presented to his widow Barbara. The event was a spectacular extravaganza, including performances of his hit songs by the Truly Lover Trio and the world premiere of Kim Scharnberg’s “Suite on the Tunes of Roy Orbison,” by the Herberger String Quartet; a hundred objects from the Agritelley collection of Orbison memorabilia, the largest of its kind; and a symposium on Orbison’s life, music, and impact on our culture. During one evening gathering, we were treated with private performances of “Oh, Pretty Woman” by Bill Dees who cowrote the song with Roy Orbison, and “I’m not Lisa” by Jessi Colter.
Barbara Orbison receives artwork by Charles Kazilek at tribute event on ASU campus, Tempe, Arizona, 25 January, 2008.
Dean of the college at the time, I asked Peter Lehman, director of the center, when he told me of his plans for the event, if I might include a new species named for the Orbisons. Peter readily agreed, and with my colleagues Kelly Miller and Paolo Mazzoldi, we paid tribute to Roy and Barbara with a whirligig beetle we named Orectochilus orbisonorum. The beetle, from India, is about 5mm in length and translucent white on its underside. But its greatest claim to fame is its name. I commissioned an original work of art by Charles Kazilek, done in a style I described as Andy Warhol meets Carl Linnaeus, that incorporated nine images of the beetle. I presented the original to Barbara at the event. I’m not sure that Peter has ever forgiven me for stealing so much of the limelight. Word of the Orbison beetle spread rapidly in the media, including a mention in Rolling Stone.
Further reading
Miller, K.B., Mazzoldi, P., and Q.D. Wheeler (2008) An unusual new species of Gyrinidae (Coleoptera), Orectochilus orbisonorum n.sp., from India. Zootaxa 1712: 65-68.
Madrigal, A. (2008) Fan boy professor names newly discovered beetle O. orbisonorum. Wired, Jan. 28.