beetle

"Beetles are the largest order of animals on Earth"

According to biologists, there are at least 400,000 species or types of beetles, all belonging to the Coleoptera, Enoptera and various lower classifications. These insects make up a quarter of all animal life forms and are the majority of insects. They are found all over the world except in the oceans, Antarctica, and the Arctic, although some species are hardy against severe cold, while others are at least semi-aquatic.

Some are horrible pests and some are beneficial. While many are black or brown, others boast beautiful colors and patterns, with metallic or iridescent carapaces. They range from the smallest, Scydosella musawasensis, to the largest, Hercules beetle, which can grow to over 7 inches.

4 Incredible Beetle Facts!

• There are approximately 300 species of beetles eaten by humans, usually in the larval stage.
• These insects evolved about 270 million years ago.
• While bedbugs are an umbrella term for various insects; beetles, and bedbugs are distinct. Beetles have stiff forewings, or elytra, and their mouthparts are used for chewing. The exception is blister beetles, which also have straws. The mouthparts of insects are used for sucking and piercing.
• Beetle larvae can be distinguished from other insect larvae because of their hard, often black heads. They have chewing mouthparts and stomata, or small holes, that allow them to breathe on the sides of their bodies. Some are called grubs. Grubs eat organic matter, which is grass and plant roots.

Species, types and scientific names

Coleoptera is derived from the Greek words for "elytra" and "wing," because the insects have tough forewings. The lower classification of Coleoptera is not only numerous but also complex, with families, superfamilies and suborders according to the food of the animals and even the tiny structures on their heads, mouthparts or hind legs. The following are some of the more populous families, superfamilies, suborders, suborders, and tribes:

Adephaga, under which taxa Hydradephaga and Geadephaga include 5,560 and 35,000 species, respectively, includes diving beetles and ground beetles. The Polyphaga order is the most diverse. The Polyphaga family includes Staphylinidae, with 48,000 species, and Scarabaeoidea, with 35,000 species, including scarabs. Other families include Elateroidea with 23,000 species and Tenebrionoidea with 35,000 species. The superfamily Chrysomeloidea includes the families Chrysomelidae, Cerambycidae, and Curculionoidea. These families have 35,000, 25,000, and 97,000 species, respectively, and include weevils.

The scientific names of some popular beetles are:

• Asian Ladybug: Harmonia axyridis is one of the most common ladybugs and belongs to the ladybug family.
• Hercules beetle: Dynastes hercules is a member of the scarab family.
• Giant Staghorn Beetle: Lucanus elaphus belongs to the deer family.
• Green June Bug: This large insect with a bright green carapace is not a bug but a beetle. Its scientific name is Cotinis nitida , and it belongs to the family Scarabidae and the subfamily Cetoniinae.
• Common Oriental Firefly: This insect is a beetle, not a fly, and its scientific name is Photinus pyralis . It belongs to the Lampyridae family and the Photinini tribe.
• Arizona scarab beetle: This tiny insect , Physonota arizonae, looks like it was made from a drop of molten gold. It belongs to the polyphagous suborder.

evolution and origin

One can find beetles in many different habitats, from parks to rainforests and tundra. With nearly 400,000 species of beetles, they are the most diverse animals on Earth. This abundance has long puzzled scientists. Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace were two of the many who used beetles to develop the theory of evolution. However, understanding the evolution and origin of beetles is difficult. A research team used a data set of 68 genes and 57 fossils to construct an evolutionary tree of the beetle. The results showed that various beetle populations continued to expand as new ecological opportunities emerged.

The success of the beetles appears to be due to their remarkable adaptability, since their evolution did not start from a single moment. The new timeline of the beetle's development will help to better understand how the species became so successful. Recent research and analysis has identified 193 living and extinct beetle families, with the oldest fossils dating back 295 million years—before dinosaurs even came to Earth.

To gain insight into the wide variety of beetles in the world today, researchers studied their genetics, physical characteristics and rare fossils to trace their evolutionary history. It has been concluded that beetles first arose during the Carboniferous period and later diversified with dinosaurs during the Triassic and Jurassic periods.

Appearance: How to Identify Them

Adults always have wings, their forewings are stiff and not used for flight. Instead, they are used to cover the hind wings used for flight. When closed, they form a straight line across the back. The forewings extend all the way to the back of the abdomen. If they do not extend to the back of the abdomen, the insect is considered a true bug.

The body can be elongated, cylindrical, round, semicircular, or flat with chewing mouthparts. They can be black or brown, but many are brightly colored. Their antennae almost always have 11 segments, but can be shorter or longer than the body. They have large, well-developed compound eyes, and their legs have evolved to allow insects to run, jump, swim, grasp and dig.

The larvae live underground or burrow into dead or living wood, roots or seeds. Some eat other invertebrates, carrion, decaying plants, or fungi, and pupate under soil, wood, or decaying bark. Most do not spit cocoons. Some larvae are parasitic, living on or inside a living host.

Most beetles don't live longer than a year, but some can take more than a year to pupate. Adults are attracted to lights at night and are easy to find on plants during the day.

Population and Distribution

Beetles are actually the largest insect order. In fact, there are approximately 400,000 different species, accounting for approximately 40% of all insect species. A 2015 study showed that four independent estimates of the number of beetle species put the number of beetles at about 1.5 million, all with narrow ranges. There are an estimated 2.1 million different types of beetles. In layman's terms, this means that there are more beetles than any other insect species.

Beetles are found in nearly all habitats, including freshwater and coastal areas. Anywhere there is vegetation, you'll find beetles living in bark, flowers, and leaves. The heaviest beetle in the insect stage is the larva of the Goliath beetle, which can weigh a little over 4 ounces and be about 5 inches long.

Habitat

These insects can be found almost everywhere. Even a cursory look at a tree, shrub, or plant will reveal some kind of beetle that may be actively eating the plant or simply resting on it. They are found under rocks, under old tree bark, in rotting logs and in dunghills. They are found in and around food, clothing, rugs, rugs and upholstery. If the porch light is on, they fly to it.

Aquatic beetles live primarily in freshwater, but some of them do live in shallow water close to shore. Adults usually carry air bubbles or have their exoskeletons modified to allow them to breathe underwater.

diet

The materials these insects eat hardly make the list. Some eat only plant material. Some are scavengers and some are omnivores. Some eat only one type of plant, while others are hunters of other insects, spiders, snails and earthworms. Others eat dung and carrion, while others eat beetles that eat dung and carrion. Many beetles rely on fungi present in their guts to help them digest their food. Weevils eat plant parts, flour and grains.

Prevention: How to Get Rid of Them

There are many ways to get rid of beetle pests. They can be simply plucked from the host plant and squashed or placed in soapy water. They can be dusted with insecticidal powder, although this can cause some collateral damage to insects such as butterflies and ladybugs. Their larvae may come into contact with nematodes or parasitic wasps. Sometimes beetle control is drastic. If wood is concerned about harboring pests, it may need to be quarantined and treated with pesticides. It is sometimes necessary to cut and burn overgrown forests to deter wood-boring beetle infestation.

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