BEETLES

In nature, you will come across a huge variety of beetles. They are the largest and diverse group of insects. There are a large number of species of beetles found throughout the world. Let’s know more about types of beetles.

There are about 800,000 species of insects existing on the earth. Beetles are the biggest group of insects. They can be classified as: Kingdom-Animalia (Animals), Phylum-Arthropoda (Arthropods), Class-Insecta (Insects) and Order-Coleoptera (Beetles). A meaning of Coleoptera is ‘sclerotised/sheathed wings’. Order Coleoptera is subdivided into various suborders such as Adephaga, Archpstemata, Polyphaga and Myxophaga. There are several families categorized under these suborders. There are about 30,000 known species of beetles found in USA and Canada. Beetles are found in all types of habitats including terrestrial and freshwater environments. However, they are not found in the sea or Polar Regions. Most beetles are predators, while some are scavengers and some are parasites. They generally feed on fungi and plants, parasites of vertebrate animals and other invertebrates. They break down plant and animal debris. Almost all leaf beetles are the leaf feeders and all ground beetles are mostly predaceous. Most members of the lady beetle family (family-Coccinellidae) are predators. However, few species (including the pestiferous Mexican bean beetle) are plant feeders and rests are fungus feeders. Some species of beetles are a prey of birds and mammals. Characteristics of Beetles The size of beetles is variable, ranging from 5 1/8 inches (tropical insects) to less than 1/16 in length. They can be found in water and on the land. Some species of beetles can fly and they can be identified by their rough, armor-like fore wings. These fore wings cover and protect their membranous hind wings, which are used for flying. Like all arthropods, a beetle has a segmented body. The beetle’s body is divided into three sections such as head, abdomen and thorax. From thorax, three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings arise. They have compound eyes and antennae. Beetles are characterized by a hard exoskeleton and fore wings (elytra). The exoskeleton is made from several plates, sclerites. They are separated by thin sutures, which maintains flexibility as well as creates the armored defense for the beetles. The fore wings/elytra are not used for flying, but to cover the hind body part and protect the second pair of wings called alae. The ground beetles (family-Carabidae) and true weevils (family-Curculionidae) as well as some cave and desert dwelling species are not able to fly. These species have two elytra combined together to form a solid shield over the abdomen.