Beetles are a group of 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 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. The largest of all families, the Curculionidae (weevils), with some 83,000 member species, belongs to this order. 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 longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 26,000 species described, slightly more than half from the Eastern Hemisphere. 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.
The Chrysomeloidea are an enormous superfamily of beetles, with tens of thousands of species, mostly in the families Cerambycidae and Chrysomelidae, the leaf beetles.
The huhu beetle is a longhorn beetle endemic to New Zealand. It is the heaviest beetle found in New Zealand.
Powderpost beetles are a group of seventy species of woodboring beetles classified in the insect subfamily Lyctinae. These beetles, along with spider beetles, death watch beetles, common furniture beetles, skin beetles, and others, make up the superfamily Bostrichoidea. While most woodborers have a large prothorax, powderpost beetles do not, making their heads more visible. In addition to this, their antennae have two-jointed clubs. They are considered pests and attack deciduous trees, over time reducing the wood to a powdery dust. The damage caused by longhorn beetles is often confused with that of powderpost beetles, but the two groups are unrelated. The larvae of the Cerambycidae are white, straight and generally flat-headed, whereas those of the Bostrichidae are white and C-shaped.
Chahuis or xamoes are the common names given in Mexico to a variety of edible insects within the insect order Coleoptera. The insects' common names in English are often sticks worms, rhinoceros beetle, or just grub.
The Disteniidae are a small family of beetles in the superfamily Chrysomeloidea, traditionally treated as a group within the Cerambycidae.
The Vesperidae are a small family of beetles, normally classified within the family Cerambycidae, of heterogeneous aspect but all characterised by larval stages related to roots of herbaceous plants or trees
Lepturinae, the lepturine beetles, is a subfamily of the longhorn beetle family (Cerambycidae), containing about 150 genera worldwide. This lineage is most diverse in the Northern Hemisphere. Until recently the subfamily Necydalinae was included within the lepturines, but this has been recently recognized as a separate subfamily. Nine tribes are usually recognized today, with a tenth, Caraphiini, created in 2016. A few genera are of uncertain placement within the subfamily.
Stephan von Breuning was an Austrian entomologist who specialised in the study of beetles (Coleopterology), particularly within the longhorn family (Cerambycidae).
The Trictenotomidae are a small family of beetles in the suborder Polyphaga containing fifteen species in two genera. Most species are found in the Oriental realm where they live in montane forest habitats. The family is considered, based on larval characters as well as sequence-based studies, to be closely related to the Salpingidae.
Dorcasominae is a subfamily of the longhorn beetle family (Cerambycidae). The family includes only two tribes, Apatophysini and Dorcasomini, but numerous genera.
Acanthinodera is a longhorned beetle in the family Cerambycidae and subfamily Prioninae. The genus contains the single species Acanthinodera cumingii, and it is the largest species of beetle in Chile. The beetle is endemic to central Chile and can be found from IV Coquimbo Region to IX La Araucanía Region.
Trachyderini is a tribe of long-horned beetles in the family Cerambycidae. There are at least 140 genera and 650 described species in Trachyderini.
Tetropium fuscum, the brown spruce longhorn beetle, is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1787. Tetropium fuscum is native to Europe and Northern Asia, and has been introduced to Nova Scotia, Canada. Brown spruce longhorn is a pest of spruce trees.
The Scolebythidae are a small family of aculeate wasps in the superfamily Chrysidoidea. These chrysidoid wasps are found in Africa, Australia, the Neotropics, north China, Thailand and Fiji. They are parasites on larvae of Cerambycidae and Ptinidae.
Taeniotes scalatus is a species of flat-faced longhorn beetle in the subfamily Lamiinae of the family Cerambycidae.
Zographus oculator, the Orange-eyed Long-horn Beetle, is a species of flat-faced longhorn beetles belonging to the family Cerambycidae.
Dmytro Zajciw was a Ukrainian and Brazilian entomologist, notable for his collection and for his many beetle discoveries. He was born in Velyka Mykhailivka, Ukraine and died in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. He was the author of Two new genera and species of neotropical Longhorn beetles , 1957, Contribution to the study of Longhorn beetles of Rio de Janeiro , 1958, and was the first to describe the genera Adesmoides and Pseudogrammopsis, as well as the species Beraba angusticollis and Mionochroma subaurosum, among many others.
Podabrocephalus is the only genus in the beetle family Podabrocephalidae, or alternatively, included in the highly diverse family Cerambycidae. Its only species is Podabrocephalus sinuaticollis. It is known from southern India.
