(PhysOrg.com) -- There are more than 2,000 species of fireflies around the world, many of which are best known for their bioluminescence. Fireflies, which are not flies but beetles, produce flashes of light in order to communicate ...
Click beetles can propel themselves more than 20 body lengths into the air, and they do so without using their legs. While the jump's motion has been studied in depth, the physical mechanisms that enable the beetles' signature ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 18, 2021
0
66
When studying how organisms evolve, biologists consider most traits, or features, as derived from some earlier version already present in their ancestors. Few traits are regarded as truly "novel."
Plants & Animals
Nov 21, 2019
3
1024
Insects are critical contributors to ecosystem functioning, and like most living organisms their co-evolution with microbes has been essential to support these functions. While many insects are infamous for wreaking havoc ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 11, 2019
1
811
A team of researchers at the University of California has discovered adaptations made by a species of beetle to survive in different geographic locations. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of ...
A trio of researchers at Kiel University in Germany has discovered how the male thistle tortoise beetle manages to penetrate the coiled duct inside the female reproductive organ without buckling his flagellum. In their paper ...
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with the University of Cape Town and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, both in South Africa, has found an example of a seed from a plant using mimicry to fool a beetle. In their paper published ...
Bombardier beetles, which exist on every continent except Antarctica, have a pretty easy life. Virtually no other animals prey on them, because of one particularly effective defense mechanism: When disturbed or attacked, ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 30, 2015
0
550
Hard-wiring beetles for radio-controlled flight turns out to be a fitting way to learn more about their biology. Cyborg insect research led by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Singapore's Nanyang Technological ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 16, 2015
0
4107
(Phys.org) —A small team of researchers with the University of Ulm's Institute of Experimental Ecology in Germany has found an evolutionary explanation for same-sex sexual behavior (SSB) in burying beetles. In their paper ...
Adephaga Archostemata Myxophaga Polyphaga See subgroups of the order Coleoptera
Beetles are the group of insects with the largest number of known species. They are classified in the order Coleoptera (pronounced /ˌkoʊliˈɒptərə/; from Greek κολεός, koleos, "sheath"; and πτερόν, pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing"), which contains more described species than in any other order in the animal kingdom, constituting about 25% of all known life-forms. 40% of all described insect species are beetles (about 350,000 species), and new species are frequently discovered. Estimates put the total number of species, described and undescribed, at between 5 and 8 million. The largest family also belongs to this order—the weevils, or snout beetles, Curculionidae.
Beetles can be found in almost all habitats, but are not known to occur in the sea or in the polar regions. They interact with their ecosystems in several ways. They often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are prey of various animals including birds and mammals. Certain species are agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata, the boll weevil Anthonomus grandis, the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, and the mungbean or cowpea beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, while other species of beetles are important controls of agricultural pests. For example, beetles in the family Coccinellidae ("ladybirds" or "ladybugs") consume aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that damage crops.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
