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Polyphaga
Polyphaga is the largest and most diverse suborder of beetles. It comprises 144 families in 16 superfamilies, and displays an enormous variety of specialization and adaptation, with over 350,000 described species, or approximately 90% of the beetle species so far discovered. Key characteristics of Polyphaga are that the hind coxa (base of the leg) does not divide the first and second abdominal/ventral plates which are known as sternites. Also, the notopleural suture (found under the pronotal shield) is not present. Etymology The name of ''polyphaga'' is derived from two Greek words: , meaning 'many', and , meaning 'to eat', so the suborder is called the “eaters of many things”. Classification The five main infraorders are: * Bostrichiformia — including furniture beetles and skin beetles * Cucujiformia — includes lady beetles, longhorn beetles, weevils, checkered beetles and leaf beetles * Elateriformia — includes click beetles and fireflies * Scarabaeiformia — ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beetle
Beetles are 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 described 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, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species. 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 (ladybirds or ladybugs) eat aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that damage crops. Beetles typically have a particularly hard e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Checkered Beetle
Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences. Cleridae have many niches and feeding habits. Most genera are predaceous and feed on other beetles and larvae; however other genera are scavengers or pollen feeders. Clerids have elongated bodies with bristly hairs, are usually bright colored, and have variable antennae. Checkered beetles range in length between . Cleridae can be identified based on their 5–5–5 tarsal formula, division of sternites, and the absence of a special type of vesicle. Female Cleridae lay between eggs at a time predominately under the bark of trees. Larvae are predaceous and feed vigorously before pupation and subsequently emergence as adults. Clerids have a minor significance in forensic entomology. Some species are occasionally found on carrion in the later dry stages of decay. Also, so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scirtidae
Scirtidae is a family of beetles ( Coleoptera). These beetles are commonly referred to as marsh beetles, as the larvae are typically associated with stagnant water, but can be found in flowing water. Adults prefer decomposing plant material near the water's edge. More than an estimated 600 species are known worldwide, distributed among at least 60 genera. Genera These 81 genera belong to the family Scirtidae: * '' Accolabass'' Watts, 2009 * '' Alpestriscyphon'' Watts, Cooper & Libonatti, 2020 * '' Amplectopus'' Sharp, 1886 * '' Anocyphon'' Watts, Cooper & Libonatti, 2020 * '' Anthocara'' Watts, Cooper & Libonatti, 2020 * '' Anticyphon'' Ruta, 2016 * '' Atopida'' White, 1846 * '' Austrocyphon'' Zwick, 2013 * '' Brachelodes'' Yablokov-Khnzorian, 1961 * '' Brachycyphon'' Fairmaire, 1896 * '' Byrrhopsis'' Champion, 1913 * '' Calvariopsis'' Ruta, 2019 * ''Calvarium'' Pic, 1918 * '' Chameloscyphon'' Watts, 2011 * '' Chilarboreus'' Ruta, 2011 * '' Contacyphon'' Des Gozis, 1886 * '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinorhipus
''Rhinorhipus'' is a genus of beetles that contains a single species, ''Rhinorhipus tamborinensis'' from southern Queensland, Australia. It is the sole member of the family Rhinorhipidae and superfamily Rhinorhipoidea. It is an isolated lineage not closely related to any other living beetle, estimated to have split from other beetles at least 200 million years ago, with studies either considering them the earliest diverging member of Elateriformia, or a basal lineage within Polyphaga. They exhibit feigning death ( thanatosis) when disturbed. Their ecology is poorly known. It is likely that they are fossorial A fossorial () animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily, but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, meerkats, and mole salamanders, as well as many beetles, wasps, and bees. Prehistoric evid ... based on their morphology.Lawrence, John F.. "4.1. Rhinorhipidae Lawrence, 1988". ''Volume 2 Morphology and Systematics (Elat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weevil
Weevils are beetles belonging to the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and Herbivore, herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, with most of them in the family Curculionidae (the true weevils). It also includes Bark beetle, bark beetles, which while morphologically dissimilar to other weevils in lacking the distinctive snout, is a subfamily of Curculionidae. Some other beetles, although not closely related, bear the name "weevil", such as the Drugstore beetle, biscuit weevil (''Stegobium paniceum''), which belongs to the family Ptinidae. Many weevils are considered pests because of their ability to damage and kill crops. The grain or wheat weevil (''Sitophilus granarius'') damages stored cereal, grain, as does the maize weevil (''Sitophilus zeamais'') among others. The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') attacks cotton crops; it lays its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Longhorn Beetle
The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are 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 (e.g., '' Neandra brunnea'') and such species can be difficult to distinguish from related beetle families such as the Chrysomelidae. 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. Description Other than the typical long antennal length, the most consistently distinctive feature of the family is that the antennal sockets are located on low tubercles on the face; other beetles with long antennae lack these tubercles, and cerambycids with short antennae still possess them. They otherwise vary greatly in size, shap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lady Beetle
Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they are not true bugs. Many of the species have conspicuous aposematic colours and patterns, such as red with black spots, that warn potential predators that they are distasteful. The majority of the more than 6,000 described species are generally considered beneficial insects, because many prey on herbivorous hemipterans such as aphids or scale insects, which are agricultural pests. Many coccinellids lay their eggs directly in aphid and scale insect colonies, ensuring their larvae have an immediate food source. However, some species such as the herbivorous Mexican bean beetle are agricultural pests. Etymology The name ''coccinellids'', created by Pierre André Latreille, is derived from the Latin word ''coccineus'' meaning "scarlet". The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nosodendridae
Nosodendridae is a family of beetles, with only 67 species in three extant genera, which are found worldwide. '' Nosodendron'', the largest genus, is found in forests and attracted to yeast generated slime on the wounds of trees, and likely consumes fermented substances as well as fungi and microorganisms. Several additional genera and species are known from the fossil record. Nosodendridae is considered to be an isolated lineage within Polyphaga, being the sister group to the clade containing Staphyliniformia, Bostrichoidea and Cucujiformia. Genera and species ;†'' Basinosa'' *†'' B. pengweii'' ( Cenomanian; Burmese amber, Myanmar) ;†'' Mesonosa'' *†'' M. scandens'' ( Cenomanian; Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ..., Myanmar) ;'' Nosod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staphyliniformia
Staphyliniformia is a large infraorder of beetles. It contains over 70,000 described species from all regions of the world. Most species occur in moist habitats - various kinds of rotting plant debris, fungi, dung, carrion, many live in fresh water. Characteristics Most Staphyliniforms are small to average sized beetles. The diverse group has few clear apomorphies. They have primitively 11-segmented antennae, a constricted neck well behind the eyes. The pronotum has a well defined, large lateral edge. Larval legs are 5-segmented, the 10th abdominal segment is often with more-or-less fine or strong spines or hooks. Urogomphi (paired "horns" at posterior tip of abdomen of larvae and pupae) with basal articulation.M.Hansen. Phylogeny and classification of the staphyliniform beetle families (Coleoptera). Biologiske Skrifter 48, Copenhagen, 1997 Systematics and evolution Staphyliniformia belongs to the suborder Polyphaga and is usually given an infraorder or series rank. It contains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthropod Coxa
The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments (called podomeres) are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: ''coxa'' (meaning hip, plural ''coxae''), ''trochanter'', ''femur'' (plural ''femora''), ''tibia'' (plural ''tibiae''), ''tarsus'' (plural ''tarsi''), ''ischium'' (plural ''ischia''), ''metatarsus'', ''carpus'', ''dactylus'' (meaning finger), ''patella'' (plural ''patellae''). Homologies of leg segments between groups are difficult to prove and are the source of much argument. Some authors posit up to eleven segments per leg for the most recent common ancestor of extant arthropods but modern arthropods have eight or fewer. It has been argued that the ancestral leg need not have been so complex, and that other events, such as successive loss of function of a ''Hox''-gene, could result in parallel gains of leg segments. In arthropods, each of the leg segments artic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stag Beetle
Stag beetles are a family of about 1,200 species of beetles in the family Lucanidae, currently classified in four subfamilies.Smith, A.B.T. (2006). A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections to nomenclature and a current classification. The Coleopterists Bulletin 60:144–204. Some species grow to over , but most to about . Overview The English name is derived from the large and distinctive mandibles found on the males of most species, which resemble the antlers of stags. A well-known species in much of Europe is ''Lucanus cervus'', referred to in some European countries (including the United Kingdom) as ''the'' stag beetle; it is the largest terrestrial insect in Europe. Pliny the Elder noted that Nigidius called the beetle ''lucanus'' after the Italian region of Lucania where they were used as amulets. The scientific name of ''Lucanus cervus'' adds ''cervus'', deer. Male stag beetles are known for their oversize mandi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cucujiformia
Cucujiformia is an infraorder of polyphagan beetles, representing most plant-eating beetles. The infraorder contains the seven superfamilies: * Chrysomeloidea (~7 families including longhorn beetles and leaf beetles) * Cleroidea (checkered beetles, bark-gnawing beetles and soft-winged flower beetles) * Coccinelloidea (15 families, includes ladybirds and fungus beetles) * Cucujoidea (~27 families) * Curculionoidea (~8 families primarily consisting of weevils and also including snout beetles and bark beetles) * Lymexyloidea (ship-timber beetles) * Tenebrionoidea (formerly "Heteromera") (30 families including blister beetle Blister beetles are beetles of the family Meloidae, so called for their defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin. About 7,500 species are known worldwide. Many are conspicuous and some are aposematically colored, announcing their ...s and ant-like beetles) References External links * Insect infraorders Taxa named by Auguste L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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