The beetle is one of the best known insects in the world, however, there are millions of types of beetles. Each of them has adapted their body in different ways and, therefore, we now have an impressive variety of species. How many types of beetles do you know? Discover different species of beetles and their characteristics in this peritoAnimal article. Read!
Beetles belong to the order of beetles. In turn, the order is divided into sub-orders:
- But how many species of beetles are there? It is estimated that there are between 5 and 30 million species of beetles.
- Although scientists have described and catalogued only 350.
- 000.
- This makes beetles the order of the animal kingdom with the highest number of species.
Due to its diversity, it is difficult to establish the morphological characteristics found in all types of beetles. However, they share some peculiarities:
Now that you know the characteristics of the beetle in general, it’s time to introduce yourself to the different types of beetles.
We started this list with the big beetle types. They are larger species that live in a variety of habitats. Thanks to their peculiarities, it will be easy to recognize them.
These are some of the species of large lysed beetles
The Titan Beetle (Titanus giganteus) reaches an impressive size of 17 centimeters. It is located in the Amazon rainforest, where it lives in the bark of trees. The species has a jaw with powerful claws and two long antennae. It can fly from trees and males make a clear sound in the face of threats.
The Ajonc Beetle (Glorious Chrysina) is a flying beetle that inhabits Mexico and the United States. It is distinguished by its bright green color, ideal for camouflage in the wooded areas where it lives. In addition, there is a hypothesis that the species is able to detect polarized light when its color changes to darker tones.
Oriental fireflies (Photinus pyralis) and all kinds of fireflies are flying beetles. In addition, these species are distinguished by their bioluminescence, that is, their ability to emit light through the abdomen. This species is native to North America. Their habits are twilight and use bioluminescence to communicate between males and females.
Meet the 7 animals that glow in the dark in this Animal Expert article.
Not all types of beetles are large, there are also smaller species with curious characteristics. Meet these types of little beetles:
The Chinese beetle (Xuedytes bellus) is a species of just 9 millimeters found in Duan, China. It inhabits the caves of the region and adapts to life in the shadows. It has a compact but elongated body. Its legs and antennae are thin, besides, it has no wings.
The vine weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus) is a small species that parasites ornamental plants or offers fruits. Adults and larvae parasitize plant species, making it a serious problem. They attack the stem, leaves and roots.
Another type of small beetle is pine weevil (Hylobius abietis). The species is distributed throughout Europe, where it parasites land with conifer plantations. It is a kind of flying beetle, capable of reaching impressive distances, between 10 and 80 kilometers.
As impressive as they may seem, some beetles are toxic to humans and their potential predators, including pets. Here are some types of poisonous beetles:
Cant-rida (Lytta vesicatoria) is a poisonous beetle for humans. It is characterized by a bright and elongated green body, with thin legs and antennae. This species synthesizes a substance called cantaridine. In ancient times, the substance was considered aphrodisiac and medicinal, but today it is known to be toxic.
Another poisonous beetle is the oily beetle (Berberomeloe majalis), which is also able to synthesize cantaridine. The species is easy to identify because it has an elongated body and a matte black, cut by notorious red stripes.
Some of the peculiarities of beetles have horns. It is the species that have this structure:
The Hercules Beetle (Hercules Dynastes) reaches up to 17 centimeters. In addition to being large, it is one of the types of cuckold beetles, as what is in its head can measure up to 5 centimeters, but these horns appear only in males. In addition, the species changes color depending on the humidity level of the ecosystem, under normal conditions, its body is greenish, but turns black when the humidity of the environment exceeds 80%.
The Cor-das-pastagens (Diloboderus abderus Sturm) is a large cuckold beetle, which is distributed in different countries of South America, well known because this common beetle nests in plantations. The larvae, white and robust, become a pest of the plantations because they devour fodder, seeds and roots.