Adults have dense hairs, which allow the beetles to breathe while underwater.

[3] When the pupae complete the imago stage of their life cycle, they move towards running water, and may be attracted to lights.

[3] Despite being referred to as aquatic insects, the beetles are unable to swim,[2] clinging to detritus that float.

[6] Members of this family are found on every continent, except Antarctica and Australia, being more common in the tropics.

[7] In 2005, a possible fossilized specimen of Dryopidae was found in the Crato Formation by entomologists David Grimaldi and Michael S.