There are more species of beetles than of any other kind of insect. They constitute the largest order of insects—Coleoptera—which includes more than a third of a million recognized species. In fact, the beetle order is the largest order in the entire animal kingdom. About a quarter of all known species of animals in the world are beetles. These insects are characterized by a pair of special hardened forewings that serve as a protective covering for a second pair of wings used for flying.

Beetles are found throughout all continents except Antarctica, in all but the most extreme environments. Although most species live on land, many—such as the whirligig, water scavenger, and true water beetles—have become adapted to aquatic environments. Some beetles are only about 0.01 inch (0.025 centimeter) long, whereas some tropical rhinoceros beetles and goliath beetles may reach lengths of 4 to nearly 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters).

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Some beetles are of great significance to humans. Among the members of the family of beetles known as weevils, or snout beetles, are notorious agricultural pests that can destroy growing crops and stored grains. Some beetle species feed on plant materials such as wood, paper, and fabrics. The larvae of some dermestid beetles are destructive pests of clothing and carpets and even of plant and animal specimens in museums.

Certain beetles are valuable because they prey on destructive insect pests. Ladybugs, or ladybird beetles, for example, eat untold numbers of aphids each year and so protect a wide variety of flowers and vegetables. Many other beetles play more subtle but equally important roles in various ecosystems. Dung beetles, or tumblebugs, consume vast quantities of dung in livestock areas. Carrion beetles are scavengers whose larvae feed on dead animals. Many beetles pollinate flowers.

Physical Characteristics

Like other insects, beetles have three major body segments: the head, with a single pair of antennae and usually a pair of compound eyes; the thorax, which typically bears two pairs of wings and three pairs of legs; and the abdomen, where the reproductive and digestive organs are housed. Beetles have chewing jaws called mandibles and paired mouthparts known as maxillary and labial palpi (singular, palpus) that are used for feeding or handling food. The bodies of beetles and other insects are covered by a layer known as the cuticle. In most beetles this is a tough layer that supports the internal organs and protects the body. The cuticle gets its strength because it contains a substance called chitin. Each hard, platelike area of the cuticle is called a sclerite.

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A distinctive feature of beetles is their front pair of wings, which are thick, hard, and opaque, without the veins characteristic of most other insect wings. These forewings, called elytra (singular, elytron), serve as protective wing covers for a second pair of functional wings underneath. The hind wings are membranous and translucent. These are ordinarily used for flying, while the heavy elytra are held out of the way. When the beetle is at rest, the elytra fold over the back and form a straight line down the center where they meet. Some beetles have shortened wings, and a few species are entirely wingless.

Life Cycle and Behavior


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Stephen Dalton—NHPA/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Beetles undergo a complete metamorphosis: they develop from egg into active larva into inactive pupa and finally into an adult. The larva, or grub, does not resemble the adult in structure. The pupal stage—though soft, pale, and immobile—does have the body form of an adult. The life spans of beetles range from a few months in some species to more than four years in others.

Feeding Habits

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Most beetles feed on living or dead plant materials, but some are scavengers of dead animal matter and some prey on other insects, spiders, or other small animals, such as small fish, frogs, and snails. Some species feed on fungi. A few are parasites.


Some beetles, such as tiger beetles, are voracious predators. Adult tiger beetles search for prey that they can subdue with their powerful mandibles. The larvae are sedentary; they live in small tunnels where they wait to capture passing insects and spiders. Water scavenger beetles are predators as larvae but most eat algae and decaying organisms as adults. Some species of beetles have highly selective feeding habits: they may eat only mites, ant larvae, aphids, or zooplankton.


Although most beetles are protected by their heavy armor, some species have developed additional methods of defense. Some secrete or eject an obnoxious fluid. Blister beetles, for example, secrete an oily, blister-causing substance that deters predators. When disturbed, many species of weevils fall and pretend to be dead. Beetles may also discourage or avoid predators by making a startling noise (see below, “Light and Sound Production”), biting, hiding (using their natural coloring as camouflage), or simply fleeing on foot or on wing.

Light and Sound Production

Many beetles are capable of producing light and sound, primarily for the purposes of attracting a mate or for frightening enemies. The familiar fireflies, or lightning bugs, are beetles that have special light organs on the underside of their abdomens. These beetles—usually the males—flash their lights rhythmically as a signal that they are ready to mate, and the females return the signal. This kind of signal system allows males and females of the same species to recognize and locate one another. Some tropical click beetles have large, luminescent eyespots on the back of the thorax that presumably are also used in courtship.

Many species of beetles make sounds by rubbing together hard parts of their bodies—a practice called stridulation. The vibration created by the friction of these parts produces a shrill creaking noise. Beetles may stridulate by rubbing the two elytra together, by rubbing a hind leg against an elytron, or by rubbing the head against the front of the thorax. In some species, even the immature grubs can produce sounds. Although stridulation is often used by adult beetles as a mating signal, its purposes in other instances—by juveniles, for example—are not fully understood.

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A wood-boring beetle known as the deathwatch beetle strikes its head against the sides of its burrow as a mating signal. The name deathwatch is derived from the superstition that the sound was an omen of death. One explanation is that the ticking sound of a deathwatch beetle that had made its burrow in an old piece of furniture was most often heard late at night by someone sitting at a sickbed.

When threatened by a predator, bombardier beetles squirt, with a loud popping sound, an unpleasant-smelling, boiling-hot liquid from the rear of their abdomens. The noise and the ejection act together to startle and repel the predator and give the beetle time to make its escape. When click beetles fall on their backs, they right themselves by snapping their bodies in such a way that they are tossed into the air with a loud clicking sound that can startle a predator.

Kinds of Beetles

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Beetles are very ancient insects, with the first kinds appearing during the Permian period (about 300 million to 250 million years ago). Today, there are more than 350,000 known species of beetles in more than 130 families. Those discussed below represent a sampling of some of the most commonly known as well as some of the most unusual beetle families in the order Coleoptera. Estimates of species numbers are given for families with 5,000 or more species.

Tiger Beetles

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Tiger beetles (family Cicindelidae) are fierce, long-legged, fast-running, fast-flying, often brightly colored beetles that capture and eat other insects. Species of tiger beetles occur throughout the world but are especially numerous in the tropics.

Ground Beetles

Ground beetles (family Carabidae) are also abundant in most parts of the world. The family is very large, with about 30,000 species. Along with rove beetles and weevils, ground beetles are the most common beetles in the United States. Many species are black and shiny; some are iridescent. Like the tiger beetles, ground beetles have long legs. Some have enlarged, pinching mandibles that are used to capture prey. Most ground beetles are considered beneficial because they eat insects that are harmful to humans. The family includes many species, such as the bombardier beetles, that secrete a bad-smelling liquid that discourages predators. Many ground beetles are nocturnal.

True Water Beetles

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True water beetles (family Dytiscidae) are oval-shaped insects that can swim, dive, and fly. They are also called diving beetles or predaceous diving beetles. They are found in most freshwater habitats worldwide but are most common in northern temperate regions. The hind pair of legs of the true water beetle are long, flattened, and fringed to provide a greater surface area that helps the insect float. The beetle breathes through spiracles—openings on the abdomen just under the tips of the elytra. Before diving, the beetle collects an air bubble beneath its elytra and then breathes from the bubble while it is underwater. It is carnivorous, preying on insects and other aquatic organisms, including fish larger than itself. The larvae of the true water beetles are sometimes called water tigers because of their voracious appetites. True water beetles often fly from one aquatic habitat to another and may be seen around outdoor lights at night.

Whirligig Beetles

Whirligig beetles (family Gyrinidae), like the true water beetles, are oval-shaped aquatic predators that can swim, dive, and fly. They are known for their gregarious habits—they are usually seen in groups, spinning and whirling around on the surfaces of quiet ponds or lakes. They have distinctive, divided eyes—a top pair for seeing above the water’s surface and a bottom pair for seeing below.

Water Scavenger Beetles

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Carrion Beetles and Burying Beetles

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Carrion beetles and burying beetles (family Silphidae) are widely distributed and eat primarily dead animal matter. Many carrion beetles are relatively large and brightly colored. Burying beetles are so named because they dig beneath small dead animals such as rodents, birds, and reptiles until the animal is completely buried beneath the soil. Then the female digs her way down to the carcass and deposits her eggs. Upon hatching, the larvae feed on the body of the dead animal.

Rove Beetles

Rove beetles (family Staphylinidae) have short elytra that do not cover the abdomen. When they are being pursued, they run with the tip of their abdomens curled over their backs, giving their abdomens the appearance of stingers. Some species expel a fluid from the tip of the abdomen that repels attacking insects. Most species are small and slender. Many live in decaying animal and plant matter, where they feed on other insects. Some species live in ant or termite nests. The rove beetle family is large, comprising more than 20,000 species, and is widely distributed throughout the world.


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Fireflies (family Lampyridae) are soft-bodied beetles, most of which produce light in special organs located in the undersides of their abdomens. The light is produced by a chemical reaction between oxygen in the air and two chemicals in the firefly’s body. The females of most species have short wings or are wingless. The wingless females and most firefly larvae are often called glowworms. Some species in the firefly family do not produce light.

Stag Beetles

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Stag beetles (family Lucanidae) are best known for their enormous, distinctive mandibles. These are most pronounced in the males. Stag beetles are often found in and around rotting logs, on which the larvae feed. Adults feed on sap. Adults are often attracted to outdoor lights.

Scarab Beetles

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Scarab beetles (family Scarabaeidae) include a wide variety of species—about 30,000 worldwide. Among them are rhinoceros, goliath, and dung beetles, June bugs, and chafers. Most scarab beetles are stout and robust, but their size varies greatly from one species to another. Some small species are about 0.08 inch (0.2 centimeter) in length, whereas some of the tropical species are the largest beetles in the world—more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) in length. Scarab beetles have unusual antennae, each of which ends in three flattened plates that fit together like a club. Many members of the family are scavengers: both the larvae and the adults feed on dung, carrion, or decomposing plant matter. Others are plant eaters: the larvae eat roots or wood and the adults eat leaves and flowers. Many members of the latter group are agricultural pests.

Click Beetles

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Click beetles (family Elateridae) are small to medium-sized beetles with elongated, flattened bodies that have bluntly rounded ends. The largest species reach lengths of about 2 inches (5 centimeters). The larvae of click beetles, called wireworms, cause extensive crop damage in some areas because they feed on underground roots, seeds, and stems. There are about 7,000 species in the click beetle family.

Metallic Wood-Boring Beetles

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Metallic wood-boring beetles (family Buprestidae) resemble click beetles in general shape but can be distinguished by their bright metallic colors. There are about 15,000 species, most of which live in tropical forests. Some species damage orchards and forests.

Dermestid Beetles

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Dermestid beetles (family Dermestidae) are mostly small, scavenging beetles. In the household the larvae are particularly harmful to stored foods, leather, furs, carpets, upholstery, and wool clothes and other wool products. The wormlike larvae are the only beetle larvae covered with hair.


Ladybugs (family Coccinellidae), or ladybird beetles, with their roundish, brightly colored bodies, are the favorite insects of many people. They are commonly red, orange, yellow, or black, with spots or other markings. The adults and larvae are often predators of other invertebrates that are agricultural or garden pests, and many fruit growers consider ladybugs to be among the most beneficial of insects. Some 5,000 species are found worldwide.

Darkling Beetles

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Darkling beetles (family Tenebrionidae) include about 15,000 species worldwide. They are most common in warm, dry climates. Most darkling beetles are solid dull black in color. Mealworms are actually the larvae of darkling beetles. Although they are major pests of grain products, mealworms are also commonly raised as food for insect-eating animals such as lizards, frogs, and birds.

Blister Beetles

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Blister beetles (family Meloidae) are elongate, relatively soft-bodied beetles. The adults of most species feed on plants. Blister beetles secrete an irritant called cantharidin. The substance has been used to produce a drug that causes a blistering reaction on the skin—most often as a topical skin irritant to remove warts.

Long-Horned, Wood-boring Beetles

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Long-horned, wood-boring beetles (family Cerambycidae) are often medium-sized to large—0.8 to 2.4 inches (2 to 6.1 centimeters) in length—with extremely long antennae. The larvae of these beetles are usually wood-borers that feed on a variety of trees and can cause considerable damage. Some 25,000 species have been described worldwide. Some are brightly colored and metallic in appearance.

Leaf Beetles

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Leaf beetles (family Chrysomelidae) are abundant and widely distributed. There are some 25,000 species of these beetles. They are relatively small, and many are brightly colored and resemble ladybugs. The adults and larvae feed on foliage and also on other plant parts; many species are serious agricultural pests.

Bark Beetles

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Harry Rogers

Weevils (family Curculionidae) are also called snout beetles. They constitute the largest beetle family, with some 40,000 recognized species. Weevils have specialized elongated heads. Their most characteristic feature is the beak or snout. It is well-developed, curves downward, and in some species may be twice as long as the body. The snout is used not only for penetrating plant material and feeding but also for boring holes in which to lay eggs. The antennae of most weevils are elbowed and club-shaped at the end. Many weevils have no wings; others are excellent fliers. Most are less than 0.25 inch (6 millimeters) in length and are plainly colored and marked, yet the largest exceed 3 inches (80 millimeters) in length and may be brightly colored. This family includes some extremely destructive pests, such as the grain weevil, the rice weevil, and the boll weevil, which damages cotton plants.