Beetles

Family

Adephaga, Archostemata, Myxophaga, and Polyphaga

Order

Coleoptera

genus

Coleopteran

Class

Insecta

species

Among the order Coleoptera more than 360,000 species exist.

about

Beetles are the largest order of insects on our planet! They are very valuable in different ways such as their help with decomposing, and they also reduce populations of pesty insects. Beetles have hard outer wing cases and hard upper bodies. They can look a little scary with their chewing mouthparts, powerful jaws, and antennae!

habitat

Beetles can be found in most habitats on the ground or under materials. Some like living on vegetation such as rotting wood or plants, while others are aquatic and live in bodies of water such as puddles or streams. There are even a few that can be found in deserts and on mountain tops.

diet

Since there are so many different types of beetles and they live in such different places, they eat nearly every kind of food. Some feed on living or dead plants, and some feed on aquatic vegetation such as roots, leaves, and algae. Herbivorous beetles may suck juices from the stems as plants. There are also some beetles that are hunters, predators, and scavengers.

Fun Facts

There is a beetle that is so small it can barely be seen by the naked human eye. The smallest beetle is the fungus beetle which only grows to be ⅓ of a millimetre. 

Beetles are extremely strong in the animal kingdom. The Palmetto Beetle can withstand a pulling force of 148 times its body mass. That is like a human being able to withstand a pulling force of 23,000 pounds.

Did you know that some beetles can change colour? A Dynastes Hercules is a type of beetle that appears yellow when dry, but it will be transparent when it is wet. Other species will change colour from gold to red because of a disturbance or excitement!

download our beetles field guide

Learn at home, in your classroom or on-the-go with our end use materials and templates. In each field guide, you will learn more about a featured flora and fauna from our monthly expedition crates.

You’ll find information about anatomy, lifecycles, matching exercises, flash cards, and downloadable posters.