Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera, in the superorder Endopterygota. 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 insects and 25% of all known animal life-forms; new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species. Found in almost every habitat except the sea and the polar regions, they interact with their ecosystems in several ways: beetles often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are serious agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, while others such as Coccinellidae eat aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that damage crops.
The Curculionidae are a family of weevils, commonly called snout beetles or true weevils. They are one of the largest animal families, with 6,800 genera and 83,000 species described worldwide. They are the sister group to the family Brentidae.
Antennae, sometimes referred to as "feelers", are paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods.
Tiger beetles are a large group of beetles, known for their aggressive predatory habits and running speed. The fastest known species of tiger beetle, Rivacindela hudsoni, can run at a speed of 9 km/h, or about 125 body lengths per second. As of 2005, about 2,600 species and subspecies were known, with the richest diversity in the Oriental (Indo-Malayan) region, followed by the Neotropics. While historically considered as a subfamily of ground beetles (Carabidae) under the name Cicindelinae, recent genomic studies indicate that they should be considered a distinct family, the Cicindelidae, as the sister group to Carabidae within the Adephaga.
Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than 6 mm in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, with most of them in the family Curculionidae. It also includes bark beetles, which while morphologically dissimilar to other weevils in lacking the distinctive snout, is a subfamily of Curculionidae. Some other beetles, although not closely related, bear the name "weevil", such as the biscuit weevil, which belongs to the family Ptinidae.
The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than the beetle's body. In various members of the family, however, the antennae are quite short and such species can be difficult to distinguish from related beetle families such as the Chrysomelidae. The scientific name of this beetle family goes back to a figure from Greek mythology: after an argument with nymphs, the shepherd Cerambus was transformed into a large beetle with horns.
Lutrochidae is a family of water beetles with a single genus Lutrochus sometimes known as "travertine beetles". There are around 21 species native to the Americas from the southern United States to Brazil.
Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are approximately 500 to 700 species worldwide. They can range in size from 1 to 12 mm. Key characteristics for adults are round oval shaped bodies covered in scales or setae. The usually clubbed antennae fit into deep grooves. The hind femora also fit into recesses of the coxa. Larvae are scarabaeiform and also have setae.
The Lymexylidae, also known as ship-timber beetles, are a family of wood-boring beetles. Lymexylidae belong to the suborder Polyphaga and are the sole member of the superfamily Lymexyloidea.
The name cardinal beetle typically refers to three different species of beetles. The red-headed or 'common' cardinal beetle is a red to orange beetle with, as the name suggests, a red head. It is about 20 millimetres (0.79 in) long, and is found throughout Britain. The rarer black-headed cardinal beetle, similarly found at sites across Britain, is larger and a deeper blood red. The scarce cardinal beetle also has a black head, but is smaller at around 9 millimetres (0.35 in) long. The scarce cardinal is only found at a few sites in Scotland and Wales.
Belidae is a family of weevils, called belids or primitive weevils because they have straight antennae, unlike the "true weevils" or Curculionidae which have geniculate (elbowed) antennae. They are sometimes known as "cycad weevils", but this properly refers to a few species from the genera Parallocorynus and Rhopalotria.
Dipsocoromorpha is an infraorder of insects in the order Hemiptera containing roughly 300 species, in one superfamily, Dipsocoroidea. The insects of this group live on the ground and in the leaf litter, though they can also be found in mangroves, low vegetation areas, and interstitial areas of streams.
Brentidae is a cosmopolitan family of primarily xylophagous beetles also known as straight-snouted weevils. The concept of this family has been recently expanded with the inclusion of three groups formerly placed in the Curculionidae; the subfamilies Apioninae, Cyladinae, and Nanophyinae, as well as the Ithycerinae, previously considered a separate family. They are most diverse in the tropics, but occur throughout the temperate regions of the world. They are among the families of weevils that have non-elbowed antennae, and tend to be elongate and flattened, though there are numerous exceptions.
Macrodactylus subspinosus is a North American beetle of the family Scarabaeidae. The members of this genus are known as "Rose chafers", not to be confused with the European "Rose chafer", Cetonia aurata. M. subspinosus occurs from Eastern Canada to Colorado and is considered a pest of many crops and flowers. It is given its common name of rose chafer because it eats the leaves of roses, although it also feeds on many other plants.
Ptinidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Bostrichoidea. There are at least 220 genera and 2,200 described species in Ptinidae worldwide. The family includes spider beetles and deathwatch beetles.
The Disteniidae are a small family of beetles in the superfamily Chrysomeloidea, traditionally treated as a group within the Cerambycidae.
Bothrideridae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Coccinelloidea. They are known commonly as the cocoon-forming beetles or dry bark beetles. They occur worldwide with most native to the Old World tropics. In older literature, the family was often included in the family Colydiidae, but is now considered unrelated.
Achrysonini is a tribe of beetles in the subfamily Cerambycinae, mainly found in Africa, Asia, and Southern Europe.
Arhopalus rusticus is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Styloxus fulleri is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by George Henry Horn in 1880.
