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 Lampyridae are a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera with more than 2,000 described species. They are soft-bodied beetles that are commonly called fireflies, glowworms, or lightning bugs for their conspicuous use of bioluminescence during twilight to attract mates or prey. Fireflies produce a "cold light", with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies. This chemically produced light from the lower abdomen may be yellow, green, or pale red, with wavelengths from 510 to 670 nanometers. Some species such as the dimly glowing "blue ghost" of the Eastern U.S. are commonly thought to emit blue light, although this is a false perception of their truly green emission light, due to the Purkinje effect.
The Cupedidae are a small family of beetles, notable for the square pattern of "windows" on their elytra, which give the family their common name of reticulated beetles.
The telephone-pole beetle is a beetle native to the eastern United States, and the only living representative of the otherwise extinct family Micromalthidae.
Scylla serrata is an ecologically important species of crab found in the estuaries and mangroves of Africa, Australasia and Asia. In their most common form, the shell color varies from a deep, mottled green to very dark brown.
The giant grouper, also known as the Queensland grouper, brindle grouper or mottled-brown sea bass, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution and is one of the largest extant species of bony fish.
Banksia serrata, commonly known as the saw banksia, the old man banksia, the saw-tooth banksia or the red honeysuckle and as wiriyagan by the Cadigal people, is a species of woody shrub or tree of the genus Banksia, in the family Proteaceae. Native to the east coast of Australia, it is found from Queensland to Victoria with outlying populations on Tasmania and Flinders Island. Commonly growing as a gnarled tree up to 16 m (50 ft) in height, it can be much smaller in more exposed areas. This Banksia species has wrinkled grey bark, shiny dark green serrated leaves and large yellow or greyish-yellow flower spikes appearing over summer. The flower spikes, or inflorescences, turn grey as they age and pollinated flowers develop into large, grey, woody seed pods called follicles.
The Bostrichidae are a family of beetles with more than 700 described species. They are commonly called auger beetles, false powderpost beetles, or horned powderpost beetles. The head of most auger beetles cannot be seen from above, as it is downwardly directed and hidden by the thorax. Exceptions are the powderpost beetles, and members of the subfamily Psoinae.
Priacma is a genus of beetles in the family Cupedidae. It contains a single extant species, Priacma serrata native to western North America and one fossil species, P. megapuncta from the Cenomanian aged Burmese amber. Species previously assigned to the genus from the Yixian Formation of China have been subsequently placed in the separate genus Apriacma.
The Ommatidae are a family of beetles in the suborder Archostemata. The Ommatidae are considered the extant beetle family that has most ancestral characteristics. Extant species of this group only occur in Australia and South America, but the geographical distribution was much wider during the Mesozoic spanning across modern day Europe, Siberia, Myanmar, and China. Discovery of Upper Jurassic Chinese and Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber fossils suggest that they were widespread on Pangea. So far, 25 extinct genera containing over 100 species of these beetles have been described. Three extant genera have been assigned to this family: Omma,Tetraphalerus and Beutelius. The family is considered to be a subfamily of Cupedidae by some authors, but have been found to be more closely related to Micromalthidae by DNA analysis.
Geodorcus helmsi or Helms's stag beetle is a large, slow-moving, flightless stag beetle in the family Lucanidae. It is endemic to New Zealand.
Geodorcus alsobius, or Moehau stag beetle, is a large flightless species of stag beetle in the family Lucanidae. It is found only on Mt Moehau, the highest mountain in the Moehau Range on the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand.
Atalantycha dentigera is a species of soldier beetle in the family Cantharidae. It is found in North America.
Xyloterinus is a genus of typical bark beetles in the family Curculionidae. This is a monotypic genus and the one described species is Xyloterinus politus. It is native to North America where it infests both hardwood and softwood trees, as well as stacks of logs.
Trogoderma variabile, the warehouse beetle, is a species of carpet beetle in the family Dermestidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Central America, North America and Oceania.
Mitosynum is a genus of spiny-legged rove beetles in the family Staphylinidae. There is one described species in Mitosynum, M. vockerothi.
Epipocinae is a subfamily of handsome fungus beetles in the family Endomychidae. There are at least 4 genera and more than 40 described species in Epipocinae.
Atalantycha bilineata, known generally as the two-lined cantharid or two-lined leather-wing, is a species of soldier beetle in the family Cantharidae. It is found in North America.
Tenomerga cinerea is a species of reticulated beetle in the family Cupedidae. It is found in North America.
Prolixocupes lobiceps is a species of reticulated beetle in the family Cupedidae. It is found in North America.
