Beetles
The Coleoptera — armored, ancient, and one in four animal species on Earth.
73 on file
Bombardier Beetle
Sprays boiling caustic chemicals from a rotating turret. 500 pulses per second.
African Dung Beetle
Navigates by the Milky Way. Rolls perfect straight lines. Pound-for-pound, the strongest insect ever measured.
Common Eastern Firefly
Glows on demand using a chemical reaction efficient enough to embarrass a lightbulb.
Goliath Beetle
Heaviest insect in the world. Lifts 850× its own body weight. Lives in trees.
Hercules Beetle
Longest beetle on Earth. Lifts 100× its weight. Wing covers shift color with humidity.
Fire-Chaser Jewel Beetle
Detects forest fires from 80 km away. Flies INTO them. Lays eggs in still-smoking wood.
Seven-Spotted Ladybug
Eats 5,000 aphids a lifetime. Bleeds yellow. Universally considered good luck.
European Stag Beetle
Europe's largest beetle. Antlers like a deer. Wrestles other males over rotting logs.
Australian Tiger Beetle
Fastest insect on Earth. Runs so fast her eyes can't keep up.
Atlas Beetle
Asia's largest rhino beetle. Three forward horns. Males wrestle for branches.
American Burying Beetle
Both parents stay home. Bury a mouse together. Feed the kids by mouth.
Eyed Click Beetle
Flips herself off her back with an audible click. 380 g of acceleration. 30 cm of jump.
Giraffe Weevil
Male: neck 3× body length. Female: rolls leaves into precision origami tubes for her eggs.
Mountain Pine Beetle
Killed 18 million hectares of pine forest since 2000. The largest insect-driven forest disaster in history.
Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle
Lifts 850× her own weight. The kabutomushi of Japan — kept as a pet, wrestled in arenas, the heart of childhood.
Titan Beetle
Largest beetle in the world. 17 cm long. Snaps a pencil with her jaws. Larva has never been seen.
Common Asparagus Beetle
Major asparagus pest. Brilliant METALLIC BLUE-BLACK with red-bordered cream square spots. Larvae use FECAL SHIELDS.
Bean Leaf Beetle
Major NA soybean pest. Color-polymorphic — yellow, red, tan, or orange. Vectors BEAN POD MOTTLE VIRUS.
Striped Cucumber Beetle
Sister pest to spotted cucumber beetle. Yellow-and-black STRIPES instead of spots. Same bacterial wilt vectoring.
Spotted Cucumber Beetle
Major NA cucurbit pest. Vectors BACTERIAL WILT. 11 black spots on yellow-green elytra.
Drugstore Beetle
Most polyphagous stored-product pest. Eats DRUGS — strychnine, belladonna, other plant alkaloids without harm.
Klamath Weed Beetle
Foundational NA weed-biocontrol success. Reduced invasive Klamath weed by 99% in western US in 10 years.
Riffle Beetle
Tiny aquatic beetle that NEVER SURFACES. Breathes underwater through PLASTRON air-layer 'physical gill'.
Caterpillar Hunter Beetle (European Ground Beetle)
Brilliant metallic GREEN-AND-GOLD ground beetle. INTRODUCED to NA in 1905 to control invasive spongy moth.
Violet Ground Beetle
Brilliant METALLIC VIOLET-PURPLE European ground beetle. 35 mm. Nocturnal predator of slugs, snails, earthworms.
Death-Watch Beetle
Tapping wood beetle. Folk DEATH OMEN. Major pest of HISTORIC OAK TIMBER in European architecture.
Patent Leather Beetle (Bess Beetle)
EUSOCIAL-LIKE beetle. Adults and larvae live in family groups inside decaying logs. 14+ stridulation calls.
Festive Tiger Beetle
Color-variable tiger beetle. Different geographic populations display GREEN, BLUE, PURPLE, RED, or COPPER elytra.
Hide Beetle
Forensic entomology bug — arrival time on corpses estimates time-of-death. Used by museums to clean skeletons.
Scarlet Lily Beetle
Brilliant SCARLET-RED beetle. Larvae cover themselves in their own FECAL EXCREMENT for defense.
Coffee Berry Borer
Single most damaging pest of COFFEE worldwide. $500M-$1B annual losses. Detoxifies CAFFEINE with gut microbes.
Rice Weevil
Major stored-grain pest worldwide. Larvae develop INSIDE individual rice/wheat/corn kernels. 10-25% storage losses.
Citrus Longhorned Beetle
Sister to Asian longhorned beetle. Attacks 100+ tree species. Major global invasive forest pest.
European Elm Bark Beetle
Primary vector of DUTCH ELM DISEASE. Killed tens of millions of American elms across NA since 1930s.
Locust Borer
Striking YELLOW-AND-BLACK wasp-mimicking longhorn beetle. Major pest of NA black locust trees.
Plum Curculio
Major NA peach and apple pest. Diagnostic CRESCENT-SHAPED CUT on developing fruits.
Banded Net-Winged Beetle
Bright ORANGE elytra with raised NETWORK of veins. Müllerian mimicry — multiple beetle species share the warning pattern.
Eastern Hercules Beetle
Largest beetle in eastern US. Males have dramatic pitchfork-horn morphology. CHANGES COLOR with humidity.
Golden Tortoise Beetle
Tiny GOLD MIRROR beetle. Can DYNAMICALLY CHANGE color from gold to rust-red when threatened.
Asian Longhorned Beetle
Invasive wood-boring beetle. Threatens NA maple forests. $700M USDA eradication effort.
Dogbane Beetle
Brilliant METALLIC GREEN-GOLD-AND-COPPER iridescent beetle. Sequesters cardiac glycosides from dogbane.
Big Dipper Firefly
The classic NA backyard firefly. Males perform J-SHAPED upward flash displays at dusk.
Japanese Beetle
Most polyphagous invasive beetle in NA. Eats 300+ plant species. $460M annual damage.
Convergent Lady Beetle
Native NA ladybug. Mass-overwinters in Sierra Nevada aggregations. Most commercially-collected biocontrol agent.
Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle
Iridescent METALLIC EMERALD GREEN beetle. Sprints so fast it temporarily goes blind.
Seven-Spot Ladybird
The original 'ladybird.' Named for Mary's Seven Sorrows. Eats 5,000 aphids per lifetime.
Australian Tiger Beetle
Fastest insect on Earth at ground speed. Runs SO FAST her vision blurs and she goes temporarily BLIND.
American Burying Beetle
Buries dead mice. Both parents care for the brood. Endangered species recovery success.
Red-Blue Checkered Beetle
Iridescent red-and-blue. Adult pollinator. Larva hitchhikes on bees and eats their brood.
Ten-Lined June Beetle
Largest western US scarab. Squeaks audibly when grabbed. Males have feathered antennae.
Devil's Coach-Horse Beetle
Raises her tail like a scorpion when threatened. Medieval Europe believed she carried curses.
Great Diving Beetle
Hunts tadpoles and small fish underwater. Carries an air bubble under her wings. Larva is a 'water tiger.'
Whirligig Beetle
Eyes split half-above and half-below water. Echolocates using surface ripples. Swims at 1 m/s.
Acorn Weevil
Female's snout is half her body length — drills through acorn shells. Cause of acorn 'wormholes.'
Cigarette Beetle
Eats tobacco, spices, dried herbs, museum specimens. Yeast endosymbiont detoxifies the nicotine.
Eastern Eyed Elater
Two giant fake eye-spots on her back. 380g click-launch. Largest click beetle in eastern US.
Goldenrod Soldier Beetle
Beneficial garden pollinator + predator. Looks like military uniform. Gathers on goldenrod by the hundreds.
Western Corn Rootworm
The 'billion-dollar bug.' Resistant to every insecticide AND to Bt corn traits. Invading Europe.
Granulate Ambrosia Beetle
Insect farmer. Carries fungus in body pouches, plants it in tree tunnels, eats the harvest. 60M years old.
Boll Weevil
Devastated US cotton — $22 billion in damage. Has a statue in Alabama. ERADICATED from the US in 2010.
Mexican Bean Beetle
A vegetarian ladybeetle. Skeletonizes bean leaves. Major US bean crop pest.
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle
USDA introduced her as biocontrol — she displaced native ladybeetles, invades homes by the thousands, bites.
Diabolical Ironclad Beetle
Survives being run over by a car. 39,000× body weight. Aerospace engineers copy her shell.
Headlight Click Beetle (Cucujo)
Brightest bioluminescent terrestrial insect. Cuban miners used live beetles as flashlights.
Varied Carpet Beetle
Eats wool and fur like clothes moths. Used by museums to clean every skeleton on display.
Colorado Potato Beetle
Most pesticide-resistant insect on Earth. Resistant to 56+ different insecticides. Devastates potato crops globally.
Emerald Ash Borer
Killed 100 million ash trees since 2002. Most economically destructive forest insect ever introduced to North America.
Khapra Beetle
Most-feared stored grain pest. Larvae survive YEARS without food. One specimen triggers container fumigation.
Red Flour Beetle
Most cosmopolitan stored-grain pest. Second insect ever to have her genome sequenced. Key model organism.
Spanish Fly (Blister Beetle)
Source of the cantharidin 'aphrodisiac.' Hypermetamorphic life cycle. Hitchhikes on bees to their nests.
Common Ground Beetle
40,000 species of beneficial ground predators. Eats slugs, caterpillars, weed seeds. Iridescent.
Asian Longhorned Beetle
Asian invader. Has killed 130,000+ US trees since 1996. Glossy black with white spots and impossibly long antennae.
Scarlet Malachite Beetle
Britain's most beautiful beetle. Emerald-green with scarlet wing tips. Critically declining.