Beetles
In Latin, the word Coleoptera means “sheath wings” referring to the armored forewings of beetles. (3)
Weighing up to 3.5 ounces, African goliath beetles are the world’s heaviest insects. (2)
The world’s smallest insects are feather-winged beetles (family Ptilidae), one species Nanosella fungi, is only 0.35mm long. (1)
The reputed aphrodisiac Spanishfly is made from the ground-up bodies of blister beetles (family Cantharidae) which produce the irritating and toxic substance cantharadin. (2)
There are approximately 370,000 described species of beetles. (2)
“If single examples of every plant and animal species were placed in a row, every fifth species would be a beetle and every tenth species would be a weevil (one type of beetle).”(1)
There are over 30,000 Scarab beetle species in the world, North America is home to 1,500 of them. Compare this to the mere 4,000 mammal, or 9,000 bird species worldwide. (2)
American burying beetles (Nicrophorus americanus) can lift animal carcasses 200 times their own weight and move them several feet (2).
There are approximately 5,000 aquatic species of Coleoptera. (4)
The descendants of a single female ladybird beetle (family Coccinelidae) can eat 200,000 aphids in one season. (2)
Sources
1. Evans, A. V. and C. L. Bellamy. 1996. An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles. Henry Holt and Company, Inc., New York.
2. Waldbauer, G. 1998. The Handy Bug Answer Book. Invisible Ink Press, Detroit.
3. Imes, R. 1992. The Practical Entomologist. Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York.
4. Merritt, R. W. and K. W. Cummins. 1996. An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America, Third Edition. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Duburque, Iowa.
