Beetles

Coleoptera

Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera, in the superorder Holometabola. 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 one of the largest orders, constituting almost 40% of described insects and 25% of all known animal species, new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species.

Adephaga

The Adephaga (from Greek ἀδηφάγος, adephagos, "gluttonous") are a suborder of beetles, and with more than 40,000 recorded species in 10 families, the second-largest of the four beetle suborders. Members of this suborder are collectively known as adephagans. The largest family is Carabidae (ground beetles) which comprises most of the suborder with over 40,000 species. Adephaga also includes a variety of aquatic beetles, such as predaceous diving beetles and whirligig beetles.

Scrol down

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 discovered thus far.

Click here

SO:Adephaga, SF: Caraboidea, F:Carabidae