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 are a cosmopolitan family of beetles, typically 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 family is large, with over 26,000 species described, slightly more than half from the Eastern Hemisphere. Several are serious pests. The larvae, called roundheaded borers, bore into wood, where they can cause extensive damage to either living trees or untreated lumber. A number of species mimic ants, bees, and wasps, though a majority of species are cryptically colored. The rare titan beetle from northeastern South America is often considered the largest insect, with a maximum known body length of just over 16.7 cm (6.6 in). 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 Prioninae are a subfamily of Cerambycidae. They are typically large (25–70 mm) and usually brown or black. The males of a few genera sport large mandibles that are used in fights with other males, similar to stag beetles. These beetles are commonly nocturnal and are attracted to light. The majority of the Prioninae whose biology is known are borers whose larvae feed on rotting wood or roots.
Insect fighting is a range of competitive sporting activity, commonly associated with gambling, in which insects are pitted against each other.
The titan beetle is a neotropical longhorn beetle, the sole species in the genus Titanus, and one of the largest known beetles.
Titanus is an Italian film production company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo (1885–1951). The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the Via Tiburtina, 13 km from the centre of Rome.
Macrodontia cervicornis, also known as the Sabertooth Longhorn beetle, is one of the largest beetles, if one allows for the enormous mandibles of the males, from which it derives both of the names in its binomen: Macrodontia means "long tooth", and cervicornis means "deer antler". Measurements of insect length normally exclude legs, jaws, or horns, but if jaws are included, the longest known specimen of M. cervicornis is 17.7 cm; the longest known specimen of Dynastes hercules, a beetle species with enormous horns, is 17.5 cm, and the longest known beetle excluding either jaws or horns is Titanus giganteus, at 16.7 cm.
Flavescence dorée is a phytoplasma disease of the vine with the potential to threaten vineyards. The bacterial agent has recently been named Candidatus Phytoplasma vitis, and its vector is the leafhopper, Scaphoideus titanus. Infection may kill young vines and greatly reduce the productivity of old vines. It is classified as a phytoplasma disease belonging to the group generically termed grapevine yellows. Occurrences are in sporadic epidemics, and varieties vary in their sensitivity to it.
La Cittadella is a 2003 Italian miniseries based on A. J. Cronin's 1937 novel, The Citadel, and produced by Titanus. It was directed by Fabrizio Costa and stars Massimo Ghini as Dr. Manson and Barbora Bobuľová as his wife, Christine. Other television versions include an American (1960), another Italian (1964), and two British adaptations.
The Lady in White is a 1938 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Elsa Merlini, Nino Besozzi and Enrico Viarisio.
Scaphoideus titanus, or the American grapevine leafhopper, is an insect of the leafhopper family (Cicadellidae) which feeds on various plants of the family Vitaceae. Native to North America, it was introduced by accident to Europe where it has become a pest by acting as a vector of the grapevine phytoplasma disease flavescence dorée.
T. giganteus may refer to:
Carenochyrus titanus is a species of beetle in the family Carabidae, the only species in the genus Carenochyrus.
Asterium or Asterion was a city in ancient Thessaly mentioned in the Catalogue of Ships in Homer's Iliad as belonging to Eurypylus. Homer speaks of "Asterium and the white summits of Titanus – Ἀστέριον Τιτάνοιό τε λευκὰ κάρηνα. Strabo places the city in the neighbourhood of Cierium. Stephanus of Byzantium relates that the place was later called Peiresia (Πειρεσία), no doubt from the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes who describes the place as near the junction of rivers Apidanus and Enipeus.
Manhunt in the City, also known as The Manhunt, is a 1975 Italian poliziottesco film directed by Umberto Lenzi. It was co-written by Dardano Sacchetti and has a score by Bruno Nicolai.
L'ultimo gattopardo: Ritratto di Goffredo Lombardo is a 2010 Italian documentary film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore about the producer and Titanus president Goffredo Lombardo.
Wrestling Titans, also known as Fighting Giants and Giants' Gate, is a pair of outdoor sculptures leading to the first courtyard of Prague Castle, in the Czech Republic.
