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Beetles are members of
the Order Coleoptera which is the largest of the
insect orders of animals. John, Paul, George and Ringo
are members of the Beatles but are NOT in the Order
Coleoptera.
 Anyway, perhaps the most
common identifying feature of beetles is the tough,
leathery looking wing covers. The wings meet in the
middle of the back and form a straight line that dissects
the body. Some beetles have wings that are not
functional and, therefore, cannot fly.
One group of beetles
called weevils or curculios have a long snout. Others
have more standard chewing mouth parts.
Beetles go through
complete metamorphosis and many of them are also harmful
in the larval form. Most beetles live part of their life
cycle as grubs in the soil. These grubs have three pairs
of legs. Often, as in the case of the
European chafer,
the larval stage is the one that causes the most problem
as they feed on the roots of plants.
Japanese
beetles on
the other hand, do some damage as larvae but reserve
their greatest impact for their adult stage when they
feed on many, many plants.
Some beetles spend part
of their life as leaf miners, borers or
bark
beetles.
So, this is a very diverse group of insects and there
are many common landscape pests that fall into this
category of insect. |
