Key for the identification of British Dryopidae

Friday (1988) stated that the separation of these species depends on the form of the genitalia. Dr Lompe (2012) published a key in German at http://www.coleo-net.de/coleo/texte/dryops.htm which uses external features of the beetles and is based on work by A.W. Steffan and M.A. Jäch.

I have translated the relevant parts of the key for the UK fauna. The last page has the male genitalia of the eight species of Dryops for comparison and the ovipositors.

Please let me know if you have success with this key and if you have suggestions for improvements. Many thanks to Garth Foster who gave some helpful comments on status and distribution which have been added to the key. He also suggested that features of the female genital tract may be useful for identification of females.