Coleoptera

Introduction
General features
- Distribution and abundance
- Size range and diversity of structure
Importance
- As predators
- As plant feeders
- As scavengers
- In transmitting plant diseases
Natural history
- Reproduction and life cycle
  - General features
  - Eggs
  - Larvae
  - Pupae
  - Typical life cycle
- Ecology
  - Beetles as prey
  - Feeding habits and habitats
  - Special ecological relationships
Form and function
- Adult features
- Larval features
- Adaptations
  - Protection
  - Sound production
  - Light production
Evolution and paleontology
Classification
- Distinguishing taxonomic features
- Annotated classification
- Critical appraisal

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

Illustration showing eleven different beetle species, each labeled with common and scientific names, including European rhinoceros beetle, clover seed weevil, great silver water beetle, violet ground beetle, longhorn beetle, green tiger beetle, seven-spotted ladybug, stag beetle, click beetle, deathwatch beetle, and glowworm. Each beetle is depicted in color and detail, highlighting their varied shapes and markings.

Illustration showing seven types of beetle larvae, each with distinct shapes and textures, including white grub, linden borer, water-penny, aquatic beetles, carpet beetle, and buprestid larva, with scientific names labeled.

Quizzes

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

Deadliest Animals Quiz

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

Green tree python snake (Chondropython viridis) in a rainforest.

Creepy Crawlers Quiz

The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is seen in Switzerland on December 2024

Animal Factoids

Related Questions

How are beetle elytra different from the forewings of true bugs?
How are beetle legs adapted for running, swimming, jumping, and digging?
How are beetle pupae similar to adult beetles?
How are beetles different from true bugs?
How can beetles be recognized by their wings?
How can metallic wood-boring beetles damage trees?
How do bark beetles harm living trees?
How do beetle antennae vary among different species?
How do beetles chew their food?
How do beetles fly with hard wing covers?
How do darkling beetles survive in different habitats?
How do fireflies produce light?
How do weevils use their long snouts?
How does a beetle larva change into an adult?
How many species are in the order Coleoptera?
How many times do beetle larvae usually molt before pupating?
How was Aphthona flava used to control leafy spurge?
What are the four main suborders of Coleoptera?
What are the four stages of complete metamorphosis in beetles?
What do dermestid beetles eat?
What do long-horned beetle larvae eat inside trees?
What do scarab beetles eat?
What do whirligig beetles eat?
What role do elytra play in beetles?
Which beetles live in water?
Which body parts make up an adult beetle?
Which features do scientists use to classify beetles?
Which habitats are occupied by beetles?
Which plants are attacked by grape flea beetles?
Why are ladybugs beetles rather than true bugs?
Why are leaf beetles important agricultural pests?
Why are some ladybird beetles considered plant pests?
Why are tiger beetle larvae fierce predators?
Why are weevils important pests of crops and stored food?
Why can wood-boring beetles damage furniture and lumber?
Why do beetle larvae and adults often eat different foods?
Why do burying beetles bury small dead animals?
Why do firefly species flash in different rhythms?
Why do many beetles live under tree bark?
Why do whirligig beetles swim on the water's surface?
Why might elytra have evolved in beetles living beneath bark?

Science Insects & Other Invertebrates Insects

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External Websites

The Australian Museum - Beetles: Order Coleoptera
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - Coleoptera
BioKids - Beetle
San Diego Zoo Animals and Plants - Beetle
Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies - A preliminary study on the diversity of coleopterans in a rural area in Changanacherry, Kerala
PNAS - The evolution and genomic basis of beetle diversity
North Dakota State University - Coleoptera
Open Textbooks at UQ - Insect Science - Orders of Insects: Coleoptera
Animal Corner - Beetle
NC State Agriculture and Life Sciences - Coleoptera
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - A Comparative Analysis of Mitochondrial Genomes in Coleoptera (Arthropoda: Insecta) and Genome Descriptions of Six New Beetles
University of Wisconsin-Madison - Wisconsion Horticulture - Beetles (Coleoptera)
University of Florida - Entomology and Nematology Department - Introduction to the Identification of Beetles (Coleoptera) (PDF)

Coleoptera

Also known as: beetle, coleopteran

Written by

Judson Linsley Gressitt

Director, Wau Ecology Institute, Papua New Guinea. Distinguished Chair of Zoology, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu. Coauthor of Chrysomelidae of China; Insects of Campbell Island.

Judson Linsley Gressitt

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 16, 2026 •History

Coleoptera protect themselves against enemies in various ways. Some closely resemble their surroundings; the upper surface of one African species (Petrognatha gigas), for example, resembles dead velvety moss, and its irregular antennae are very much like dried tendrils or twigs. Many weevils fall and feign death at the least alarm and, folding their limbs closely around the body, look like seeds or particles of soil, thus escaping observation. Certain beetles, especially those living in ants’...

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