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 insects 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. 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. Some others also have unusual characteristics, such as fireflies, which use a light-emitting organ for mating and communication purposes.
Buprestidae is a family of beetles known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles because of their glossy iridescent colors. Larvae of this family are known as flatheaded borers. The family is among the largest of the beetles, with some 15,500 species known in 775 genera. In addition, almost 100 fossil species have been described.
A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although the term "bark beetle" refers to the fact that many species feed in the inner bark (phloem) layer of trees, the subfamily also has many species with other lifestyles, including some that bore into wood, feed in fruit and seeds, or tunnel into herbaceous plants. Well-known species are members of the type genus Scolytus, namely the European elm bark beetle S. multistriatus and the large elm bark beetle S. scolytus, which like the American elm bark beetle Hylurgopinus rufipes, transmit Dutch elm disease fungi (Ophiostoma). The mountain pine beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae, southern pine beetle Dendroctonus frontalis, and their near relatives are major pests of conifer forests in North America. A similarly aggressive species in Europe is the spruce ips Ips typographus. A tiny bark beetle, the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei is a major pest on coffee plantations around the world.
João Rodrigues de Castelo Branco, better known as Amato Lusitano and Amatus Lusitanus (1511–1568), was a notable Portuguese Jewish physician of the 16th century. Like Herophilus, Galen, Ibn al-Nafis, Michael Servetus, Realdo Colombo and William Harvey, he is credited as making a discovery in the circulation of the blood. He is said to have discovered the function of the valves in the circulation of the blood.
The mountain pine beetle is a species of bark beetle native to the forests of western North America from Mexico to central British Columbia. It has a hard black exoskeleton, and measures approximately 5 millimetres, about the size of a grain of rice.
The rain beetles are a group of beetles whose extant species are found only in the far west of North America. They spend most of their lives underground, emerging in response to rain or snow, thus the common name. Formerly classified in the Scarabaeidae, they are currently assigned to their own family Pleocomidae, considered the sister group to all the remaining families of Scarabaeoidea. The family contains a single extant genus, Pleocoma, and two extinct genera, Cretocoma, described in 2002 from Late Cretaceous deposits in Mongolia, and Proteroscarabeus of Late Cretaceous China.
Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences.
The American Elm cultivar Ulmus americana 'Exhibition' is a selection made by the Patmore Nurseries from seeds of a tree at Brandon, Manitoba. Released in 1952, 'Exhibition' was propagated by grafting.
The American elm cultivar Ulmus americana 'Aurea' was cloned from a tree discovered by F. L. Temple in Vermont at the end of the 19th century.
The American Elm cultivar Ulmus americana 'L'Assomption' was selected from seedlings grown from X-irradiated seed at the eponymous experimental station in Quebec before 1965.
Meruidae is a family of aquatic beetles in the suborder Adephaga, with only one genus and species, Meru phyllisae. The beetle species was first found in the early 1980s. and fully described in 2005. At 0.8 mm (0.031 in), it is one of the smallest adephagan beetles in the world. A survey of aquatic beetles of Venezuela indicated that Meru is most common during the wet season, when larger areas of granitic rock surface are covered with water film, which the adult beetles as well as the larvae inhabit.
The American Elm cultivar Ulmus americana 'Creole Queen' was cloned from a tree growing outside New Orleans and was released in 2008.
Exocentrus is a genus of longhorn beetles of the subfamily Lamiinae.
Exocentrus adspersus is a species of longhorn beetles of the subfamily Lamiinae. It was described by Mulsant in 1846, and is known from Europe, the Caucasus, and Russia. The beetles inhabit various deciduous trees, although their preferred host plants are oaks. They measure 5–8 millimetres (0.20–0.31 in) long and can live for approximately 2 years.
Exocentrus punctipennis is a species of longhorn beetles of the subfamily Lamiinae. It was described by Mulsant and Guillebeu in 1856, and is known from southern Europe and the Caucasus. The beetles inhabit elm trees. They measure 3.5–6 millimetres (0.14–0.24 in) long, and can live for approximately 1–2 years.
Exocentrus ritae is a species of longhorn beetles of the subfamily Lamiinae. It was described by Sama in 1985, and is endemic to Turkey. The beetles inhabit deciduous trees. They measure 3–5 millimetres (0.12–0.20 in) in length, and can live for approximately 1–2 years.
Pedobacter is a genus of Gram-negative soil-associated bacteria. Species including Pedobacter heparinus, formerly known as Flavobacterium heparinum, produce heparinase and are capable of using heparin as their sole carbon and nitrogen source.
Streptomyces lusitanus is a bacterium species from the genus of Streptomyces which has been isolated from soil. Streptomyces lusitanus produces 7-chlortetracycline, naphthyridinomycin, cyanocycline B, N-desmethylnaphthyridinomycin and tetracycline.
Pseudokineococcus is a genus of bacteria from the family of Kineosporiaceae.
