beetle, common name for insects insect, invertebrate animal of the class Insecta of the phylum Arthropoda . Like other arthropods, an insect has a hard outer covering, or exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed legs. Adult insects typically have wings and are the only flying invertebrates.
..... Click the link for more information. of the order Coleoptera, which, with more than 300,000 described species, is the largest of the insect orders. Beetles have chewing mouthparts and well-developed antennae. They are characterized by a front pair of hard, opaque, waterproof wings called elytra, which usually meet in a straight line down the middle of the back. The elytra cover the rear pair of membranous flight wings, protecting them and the body from mechanical damage and desiccation. Beetles are poor flyers compared with many other insects, but they are well adapted for surviving rigorous conditions. They are found everywhere except in oceans and near the poles, and they occupy nearly every kind of habitat. Most are terrestrial, but some are underground tunnelers and some live in water. These water beetles water beetle, name for aquatic beetles of several families. They should not be confused with water bugs , which are true bugs (order Hemiptera). The predaceous diving beetles (family Dytiscidae) are a large group, widespread in quiet streams and ponds.
..... Click the link for more information. are often confused with water bugs, but the latter all have sucking mouthparts. Beetles range in size from under 1-32 in. (1 mm) to over 6 in. (15 cm) long; tropical species are the largest. Most are dull, but members of several beetle families are brilliantly colored, some with a metallic or iridescent sheen. The majority of beetles are plant eaters, but there are also many predators and scavengers and a few parasites. Many beetles are highly destructive pests of crops and gardens (e.g., Japanese beetle Japanese beetle, common name for a destructive beetle, Popillia japonica, of the scarab beetle family. Accidentally imported to the United States from Japan, it was first discovered in New Jersey in 1916 and is now widespread in the northeastern states, where
..... Click the link for more information. , potato beetle potato beetle, name for two beetles of the leaf beetle family and for two of the blister beetle family, all destructive to the potato plant and its relatives.
..... Click the link for more information. , boll weevil boll weevil or cotton boll weevil (bōl), cotton-eating weevil , or snout beetle, Anthonomus grandis.
..... Click the link for more information. ), but others are beneficial predators of harmful insects (e.g., ladybird beetles ladybird beetle or ladybug, member of a cosmopolitan beetle family with over 4,000 species, including 350 species in the United States. Ladybird beetles are mostly under 1-4 in.
..... Click the link for more information. ). The largest of the many beetle families is the scarab beetle scarab beetle or scarab, name for members of a large family of heavy-bodied, oval beetles (the Scarabaeidae), with about 30,000 species distributed throughout most of the world and over 1,200 in North America.
..... Click the link for more information. family, with over 20,000 species; among these are the dung beetles, which are invaluable scavengers. Weevils weevil, common name for certain beetles of the snout beetle family (Curculionidae), small, usually dull-colored, hard-bodied insects. The mouthparts of snout beetles are modified into down-curved snouts, or beaks, adapted for boring into plants; the jaws are at the
..... Click the link for more information. are plant-eating beetles with mouthparts elongated into snouts bearing jaws at their ends. The fireflies firefly or lightning bug, small, luminescent, carnivorous beetle of the family Lampyridae. Fireflies are well represented in temperate regions, although the majority of species are tropical and subtropical.
..... Click the link for more information. are luminescent beetles. Blister beetles blister beetle, common name for certain soft-bodied, usually black or brown, mostly elongate and cylindrical beetles belonging to the family Meloidae. Blister beetles are common insects found feeding on the flowers and foliage of various plants. Occasionally some, e.
..... Click the link for more information. , including the so-called Spanish fly, produce irritating secretions. Beetles are classified in the phylum Arthropoda Arthropoda (ärthrŏp`ədə) [Gr.,=jointed feet], largest and most diverse animal phylum.
..... Click the link for more information. , class Insecta, order Coleoptera.

beetle

Any of at least 250,000 species of insects constituting the order Coleoptera (the largest order in the animal kingdom), characterized by special forewings, called elytra, which are modified into hardened covers over a second pair of functional wings. Beetles occur in almost all environments except Antarctica and the peaks of the highest mountains. Temperate zones have fewer beetle species than the tropics but in greater numbers. The smallest species are less than 0.04 in. (1 mm) long; the largest can exceed 8 in. (20 cm). Most beetles eat either other animals or plants; some eat decaying matter. Some species destroy crops, timber, and textiles and spread parasitic worms and diseases. Others are valuable predators of insect pests. Some beetles are known by other common names (e.g., borer, chafer, curculio, firefly, weevil). Beetles are preyed on by other insects and by bats, swifts, and frogs.

beetle¹

1. any insect of the order Coleoptera, having biting mouthparts and forewings modified to form shell-like protective elytra

2. a game played with dice in which the players draw or assemble a beetle-shaped form

beetle²

1. a heavy hand tool, usually made of wood, used for ramming, pounding, or beating

2. a machine used to finish cloth by stamping it with wooden hammers

beetle (redirected from Coleoptera)

beetle

beetle
(redirected from Coleoptera)