Beetles from this group are also referred to as rhinoceros beetles. There is a wide variation in the different species of Hercules beetles. Their hard wing covers can be light brown, green, or gray colors with black markings. These markings are unique to each individual beetle. Some species of Hercules beetles have a huge protruding horn that they use to battle with other beetles.
Another interesting fact about this large beetle is that it is one of the largest flying insects in the world. The species Dynastes tityus is also the heaviest insect in North America. These types of beetles are also popular pets in some countries. There is a wide variety of tiger beetles with different colors, sizes and shapes.
Looking at pictures of a tiger beetle, it can be easy to mistake this for a completely different species of insect. Tiger beetles have long skinny legs, long antennae, and curved mandibles.
These aggressive beetles belong to the subfamily Cicindelinae. There are over 2, species of beetle in this group with many variations in body color, size, and shape.
Some genera can be brightly colored whereas other kinds of these beetles are dull black bugs. The six-spotted green tiger beetle is bright iridescent green.
Soldier Beetles are types of insects with black and orange body and long antennae. Soldier beetles from the family Cantharidae have long straight bodies without any curvature. These black and orange flying insects are often seen flying around flowers and can be easily mistaken for wasps. Many species of soldier beetle have a different colored head and thorax from the rest of their body. This species of beetle gets its name from its unique shape which is said to resemble British red coat soldiers.
Unlike many of the other kinds of beetles, its wing covers are softer and leathery. The white-spotted Sawyer Beetle Monochamus scutellatus has long antennae and may have white spots on the body. Sawyer beetle is the common name of beetles in the genus Monochamus.
The common name of these insects comes from their ability to drill into types of softwood. Sawyer beetles are a large type of longhorn beetle that fly and are attracted to lights. One of the ways to recognize these dark-colored beetles is by their extremely long antennae. With some species of sawyer beetle, their antennae can be longer than their body length.
The reason why sawyer beetles are considered an invasive pest is the damage they do to pine wood. For example, the spotted pine sawyer M. The Japanese Beetle has green and brown iridescent body. The Japanese beetle Popillia japonica is a medium-sized beetle with stunning iridescent copper-colored hard wing covers and a shiny green head.
Although this scarab beetle is native to Japan, it is now an invasive species in North America and Europe. The beetle feeds on the plant leaves of over species. This metallic green and bronze beetle has an oval body that is almost as wide as it is long. Apart from its iridescent coloring, the beetle is identified by its tufts of tiny white hairs under the elytra wing covers.
The tiny striped cucumber beetle is identified by its black and yellow stripes. The striped cucumber beetle scientific name: Acalymma vittatum is a tiny beetle in the genus Acalymma and subfamily Galerucinae. As you can guess from its name, the striped markings help to identify this beetle. Black and yellow stripes run the length of its wing covers. This little beetle is a serious crop pest and is similar in its look to the western corn rootworm beetle Diabrotica virgifera.
You can tell the beetles apart because the striped cucumber beetle has a black abdomen. The Colorado potato beetle has black and light orange or yellow stripes. Another striped leaf beetle that can do major damage to crops is the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata. The almost round-looking beetle has orange or light-yellow and brown stripes.
There are some types of true beetles that many people tend to associate with other types of flying insects. Ladybugs are red and black beetles that include different types.
Species of ladybugs or, ladybirds are beneficial beetles that are good for controlling aphid populations. Learn more about the many different types of ladybugs that inhabit gardens and grasslands in the summer.
They may enter the house through cracks in the foundation or gaps around door and window frames. These pests can get inside by hiding in:. There are three basic groups that may require treatment inside our homes and businesses:. Beetles are a nuisance because of their ability to damage stored food and property. The pests can damage:. Characteristics: Beetles have well-developed antennae and chewing mouthparts. Wings: Beetles have shell-like front wings known as elytra.
These front wings are often very hard and appear more like a shell than wings. The beetle folds the front wings so they cover the back wings. They are durable and waterproof, serving as protection against damage and dehydration.
Most adults seem to have a line down their back where the two front wings meet. Beetles are often poor fliers. Beetles belong to the insect order Coleoptera.
This is the largest order of insects. There are more than a quarter million beetle species in the world. In North America alone, scientists have identified more than 25, species.
Beetles develop in a complete metamorphosis four-stage life cycle egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The length of the life cycle also varies according to the type. Some develop very quickly and they can produce more than one generation each year. Others, like some of the wood-boring beetles can take several years to decades to develop from egg to adult. The length of the life cycle also depends on the amount of food that is available for the larvae to eat as well as environmental conditions.
They feed on plants, small insects and animal fibers, depending on species. A few beetles are considered pests in gardens and crops, although some species may benefit humans by killing harmful insects. Adults often deposit their eggs near the food that the larvae will eat when they hatch. Carpet beetle larvae eat natural fibers and feathers.
They often damage woolens and other fabrics. Others, like powderpost beetles , feed on hardwoods and bamboo. These pests attack furniture and other items made of wood.
Some, like the flour beetles and the grain beetles , attack food products in homes. They also damage food in production facilities and stores. There are a few, however, that can cause damage to plants or structures, or are otherwise undesirable.
I have always been struck by how beautiful these often-overlooked animals can be, especially close-up. Their habits and life histories are also frequently amazing. Overall, beetles are a group of insects that are worth getting to know. Being able to identify the beetles around your garden and your home is a good first step. Stag beetles are often very spectacular insects with huge mandibles, or "pincers," which give the insect its common name -- the mandibles on some look like the horns of a stag deer.
Stag beetles are shiny brown or black, usually quite large, and have pronounced mandibles that are smaller in the females.
As a matter of fact, their smaller, stouter pincers means the female can deliver a much more painful bite than the male. Stag beetles are not venomous or harmful in any way. The larvae live in rotten stumps and logs and prey on the insects there.
The adults often fly to lights on warm summer nights. The eastern Hercules beetle is a kind of rhinoceros beetle found in the United States.
These very large beetles are in the genus Dynastes , which is found throughout the Americas. Tropical species are among the largest insects in the world. In the United States, Dynastes beetles are generally uncommon, although the beautiful, black-spotted eastern Hercules beetles, Dynastes tityus , is occasionally found in large colonies on trees.
These insects are harmless despite their large size and the male's huge horns. Male and female eastern Hercules beetle, Dynastes tityus. If one could conclude as to the nature of the Creator from a study of his creation it would appear that God has a special fondness for stars and beetles. This large, handsome beetle is often found at lights in early summer, hence one of its other common names, the spotted June beetle.
The adults are harmless and feed on grapevines, generally causing very little damage, and are not considered a pest. There are two variations of this species, one in the North and one in the South the northern version has darker legs.
This insect lives in Eastern North America, as far south as Florida; its range extends west to Nebraska and eastern Kansas. They are very active fliers and will quickly take to the air if disturbed, although they can be safely handled. They live in woods, hedges, and overgrown areas, where the larvae grubs feed on rotten wood under the soil; they pupate in shallow chambers and the adult beetle emerges in the summer.
Habitat: Larvae are grubs that live under soil and feed on roots; adults eat the leaves of grape and other plants. Notes: These beetles are related to the more common brown "June bug. Ten-lined June beetle showing large, broad antennae. Like the grapevine beetle above to which it is related, this is a large, showy beetle that often shows up at lights around homes and urban areas.
However this beetle is confined to the American Southwest, where it can be very common. Ten-lined June beetles have an interesting way of defending themselves, which you may know about if you have ever tried to pick one up. If you grab them or bother them, these beetles will suddenly make a loud, vibrating buzz that zings your fingers and is quite startling.
The Japanese beetle is one of the most destructive pests in the United States, chewing its way through the leaves of upwards of different species, especially rose, grapes, linden, and crepe myrtle. It's also one of the prettiest beetles in North America, with copper-colored wing covers elytra and an iridescent green thorax and head.
This beetle flies very well, and resembles a bee as it hovers among the flowers and blossoms of your backyard primrose. In North America, however, P. The first written evidence of this beetle's invasion of North America is from , when it showed up in a New Jersey greenhouse, hungry and ready to stage a take-over. At present, only nine states, all in the West, are free from this pest. Graphic showing the underground larval and pupation stages of the Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica.
Ground beetles in the subfamily Carabinae make up a very large group of beetles, many of which are those similar-looking brown or black beetles you see scurrying across the sidewalk. These ground beetles live under stones and logs, or under your porch, and they are totally harmless to humans: in fact, they do humans a service by preying on some less-desirable insects like ants.
It's unusual to see these beetles inside your home, so if you have a bug, or bugs, that look like beetles around your house, you should have a closer look -- they could be roaches.
Cockroaches are an entirely different group of insects from beetles, and if you do have cockroaches, you should take steps to get rid of them. Tiger beetles are very cool insects that most people hardly notice, even though they are quite common. These beetles often occur in sandy areas, but some show up on hot summer sidewalks.
They have long legs, big eyes, and sharp pincers, and they are jumpy and nervous -- tiger beetles will fly if you get too close and land about 5 feet away, repeating the action if you move towards them. I always loved trying to catch tiger beetles in the summer when I was a kid.
Many are very beautifully colored in iridescent green and blue, and the challenge of grabbing one can keep a kid occupied for hours.
If you come across a dead bird or mouse, there's a good chance that some of these beetles will be on the scene. They are large and brightly colored, which makes them hard to miss.
Carrion beetles are also sometimes called "burying beetles," because some species dig a hole under the carcass until it falls in. Then the beetles lays eggs on the food source and covers it up. This group has many other fascinating habits, all of them on the gross side, but true scientists, citizen or otherwise, aren't fazed by a little carrion.
There are two common species in this group that look very different. Most Silphidae beetle are good flyers and sometimes come to lights. The name says it all -- these beetles love to find a dead mouse or bird and use it as a food source. Filbert weevil showing characteristic "snout". Weevils are generally small, harmless beetles with a pronounced nose or "snout. And you probably never even noticed them!
The place where most people encounter weevils is in the pantry, where a few species can become pests by invading stored beans and grains. Many people have also heard of the "boll weevil," which feeds on cotton and can ruin a cotton crop by damaging the fibers in the "boll. Once you are tuned in to the world of small animals, you will certainly start noticing a weevil or two in your surroundings.
Unless they're in your stored food, there's no reason to fear or harm these little creatures. The beautiful Green Weevil genus Polydrusus is very common in late summer. You will most likely encounter sawyer beetles on camping and fishing trips, in places where there are plenty of trees.
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