- For other uses, see Beetle (disambiguation).
Beetles (order Coleoptera) are one of the main groups of insects. The
order has more species in it than any other order in the entire animal
kingdom. 40% of all insect species are beetles (about 350,000 species), and new species are regularly discovered.
The forewings of beetles are transformed into hard shells, called elytra. These elytra form an armour protecting the abdomen and the
sensitive hindwings. The forewings are not used (at least not actively flapped) in flying, but they must (in most species) be raised in order to move the hindwings. After landing the hindwings are
folded below the elytra. Most beetles can fly, but few reach the dexterity of some other groups, e.g. flies, and many species only fly if absolutely necessary. Some beetles have elytra that have grown together and cannot
fly at all; a few have lost their wings altogether.
Some beetle larvae (young) are leaf
miners.
Beetles can be found in almost all biomes, but are not known to occur in the sea or in
the polar regions.
Beetles are endopterygotes
with complete
metamorphosis. The larva of a beetle is called a grub.
When J. B. S. Haldane, a British geneticist, was asked what his studies of nature
revealed about God, he replied, "An inordinate fondness for beetles."
The study of beetles is called coleopterology, and its practitioners
coleopterists. See list of notable coleopterists.
Notable types
Well-known types of beetles include:
Some types of beetles are less well-known, but are problems in some areas:
Subgroups
The extraordinary number of beetle species poses special problems for classification, with some families consisting of thousands of species and needing further division into
subfamilies and tribes.
See Subgroups of the order
Coleoptera for a complete list.
Reference
Journals
External links
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