the-insect-archive-coleoptera

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Lucanus elaphus

Lucanus elaphus, the giant stag beetle, elk stag beetle, or erroneously as the elephant stag beetle, is a beetle of the family Lucanidae native to eastern North America. They are sometimes kept as pets.

Alaus oculatus

Alaus oculatus, commonly called the eastern eyed click beetle or eyed elater, is a species of click beetle.

Photinus pyralis

Photinus pyralis, also known by the common names the common eastern firefly or big dipper firefly, and sometimes called a "lightning bug", is a species of flying beetle. An organ on its abdomen is responsible for its light production. It is the most common species of firefly in North America and is typically found east of the Rocky Mountains. Photinus fireflies are often confused with fireflies of the similar-sounding genus, Photuris, which are also found in North America.

Colorado potato beetle

The Colorado potato beetle is a beetle known for being a major pest of potato crops. It is about 10 mm long, with a bright yellow/orange body and five bold brown stripes along the length of each of its wings. Native to the Rocky Mountains, it spread rapidly in potato crops across the United States and then Europe from 1859 onwards.

Cicindela sexguttata

The six-spotted tiger beetle, also known as the six-spotted green tiger beetle, is a common North American species of tiger beetle in the Cicindelinae subfamily. It is common in many areas of the United States of America, and is well known. It is recognized for its bright green color and its flight pattern. The beetle is largely harmless to humans and may live as long as three years.

Coccinella septempunctata

Coccinella septempunctata, commonly known as the seven-spot ladybird, often abbreviated C-7, is a carnivorous beetle native to Europe, most of Asia, and North Africa. It inhabits many regions with a temperate climate. The beetle has been introduced to several other areas, including North America as a biological pest control agent to combat aphid infestations. It is one of approximately 5,000 species of ladybird worldwide. Bauer states that C. septempunctata's ability to adapt to many different habitats makes it "one of the most successful aphidophagous insects".

Japanese beetle

The Japanese beetle is a species of scarab beetle. Due to the presence of natural predators, the Japanese beetle is not considered a pest in its native Japan. In North America and some regions of Europe, it is a noted pest to roughly 300 species of plants. Some of these plants include roses, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees, and others.

Scarabaeus sacer

Scarabaeus sacer, common name sacred scarab, is the type species of the genus Scarabaeus and the family Scarabaeidae. This dung beetle is native to southern Europe, North Africa, West Asia, and was venerated in ancient Egypt.

Scarabaeidae

The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 35,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change. Several groups formerly treated as subfamilies have been elevated to family rank, and some reduced to lower ranks. The subfamilies listed in this article are in accordance with those in Catalogue of Life (2023).

Emerald ash borer

The emerald ash borer, also known by the abbreviation EAB, is a green buprestid or jewel beetle native to north-eastern Asia that feeds on ash species. Females lay eggs in bark crevices on ash trees, and larvae feed underneath the bark of ash trees to emerge as adults in one to two years. In its native range, it is typically found at low densities and does not cause significant damage to trees native to the area. Outside its native range, it is an invasive species and is highly destructive to ash trees native to Europe and North America. Before it was found in North America, very little was known about the emerald ash borer in its native range; this has resulted in much of the research on its biology being focused in North America. Local governments in North America are attempting to control it by monitoring its spread, diversifying tree species, and through the use of insecticides and biological control.

Stag beetle

Stag beetles compose the family Lucanidae. It has about 1,200 species of beetles in four subfamilies. Some species grow to over 12 centimetres, but most to about 5 cm (2 in).

Mealworm

Mealworms are the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle.

Beetle

Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera, in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 described species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described arthropods and 25% of all known animal species; new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species.

Coccinellidae

Coccinellidae is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles to avoid confusion with true bugs. The more than 6,000 described species have a global distribution and are found in a variety of habitats. They are oval beetles with a domed back and flat underside. Many of the species have conspicuous aposematic (warning) colours and patterns, such as red with black spots, that warn potential predators that they taste bad.

Firefly

The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,400 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production of light, mainly during twilight, to attract mates. The type species is Lampyris noctiluca, the common glow-worm of Europe. Light production in the Lampyridae is thought to have originated as a warning signal that the larvae were distasteful. This ability to create light was then co-opted as a mating signal and, in a further development, adult female fireflies of the genus Photuris mimic the flash pattern of the Photinus beetle to trap their males as prey.

Goliathus

The Goliath beetles are any of the six species in the genus Goliathus. Goliath beetles are among the largest insects on Earth, if measured in terms of size, bulk and weight. They are members of subfamily Cetoniinae, within the family Scarabaeidae. Goliath beetles can be found in many of Africa's tropical forests, where they feed primarily on tree sap and fruit. Little appears to be known of the larval cycle in the wild, but in captivity, Goliathus beetles have been successfully reared from egg to adult using protein-rich foods, such as commercial cat and dog food. Goliath beetles measure from 6-11 centimeters for males and 5-8 centimeters for females, as adults, and can reach weights of up to 80–100 grams (2.8–3.5 oz) in the larval stage, though the adults are only about half this weight. The females range from a dark chestnut brown to silky white, but the males are normally brown/white/black or black/white. Goliath beetles, while not currently evaluated on the IUCN Red List, are facing growing conservation challenges across their African range due to habitat loss, over-collection for the international pet trade, and the potential impacts of climate change.

Harmonia axyridis

Harmonia axyridis is a lady beetle or ladybird species that is most commonly known as the harlequin, Asian, or multicoloured Asian lady beetle. This is one of the most variable lady beetle species in the world, with an exceptionally wide range of colour forms. It is native to eastern Asia, and has been artificially introduced to North America and Europe to control aphids and scale insects. It is now common, well known, and spreading in those regions, and has also established in Africa and widely across South America.

Hercules beetle

The Hercules beetle is a species of rhinoceros beetle native to the tropical forests of southern Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles. It is the longest extant species of beetle in the world, and is also one of the largest flying insects in the world.

Dynastinae

Dynastinae or rhinoceros beetles are a subfamily of the scarab beetle family (Scarabaeidae), named for their rhinoceros-like horns. Other common names – some for particular groups of rhinoceros beetles – include Hercules beetles, unicorn beetles or horn beetles. Over 1,500 species and 225 genera of rhinoceros beetles are known.

Dynastes tityus

Dynastes tityus, the eastern Hercules beetle, is a species of rhinoceros beetle native to the Eastern United States. The adult's elytra are green, gray or tan, with black markings, and the whole animal, including the male's horns, may reach 60 mm (2.4 in) in length. The larvae feed on decaying wood from various trees.

Nicrophorus americanus

Nicrophorus americanus, also known as the American burying beetle or giant carrion beetle, is a critically endangered species of beetle endemic to North America. It belongs to the order Coleoptera and the family Silphidae. The carrion beetle in North America is carnivorous, feeds on carrion and requires carrion to breed. It is also a member of one of the few genera of beetle to exhibit parental care. The decline of the American burying beetle has been attributed to habitat loss, alteration, and degradation, and they now occur in less than 10% of their historic range.

Devil's coach horse beetle

The devil's coach-horse beetle is a species of beetle belonging to the large family of the rove beetles (Staphylinidae). It was originally included in the genus Staphylinus in 1764, and some authors and biologists still use this classification.

Quiz

Coleoptera