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The secrets of why central-American jewel scarab beetles look like they are made from pure gold, has been uncovered by physicists at the University of Exeter.

The ornate beetles, which have a brilliant metallic gold colour, are highly valued by collectors. But until now the reasons behind their golden iridescent hue, have not been fully understood.

University of Exeter physicists specialising in colour and light have done experiments exploring the origin of the scarab beetles' striking metallic golden appearance, showing that the golden beetles have a unique 'optical signature'. The structure of the beetle and its armour uniquely manipulates the way the light is reflected so that it looks like pure gold.

Their results are published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

Professor Pete Vukusic, a physicist specialising in light and colour, led the research which involved experiments and advanced modelling. He found that the golden appearance is due to the high reflectiveness of the beetles' exoskeleton, which also manipulates a property of the light called its polarisation: the orientation of the reflected light wave's oscillations.

The scientists mapped the optical signature of the beetle's Chrysina resplendens' colour, and found it was unusually 'optically-ambidextrous', meaning that it reflects both left-handed and right-handed circularly-polarised light.

Professor Vukusic said: "The brilliant golden colour and distinctive polarised reflection from the scarab beetle Chrysina resplendens sets it completely apart from the hundreds of thousands of other beautiful and brightly coloured animals and plants across the natural world. Its exoskeleton has a bright, golden appearance that reflects both right-handed and left-handed circularly-polarised light simultaneously. This characteristic of Chrysina resplendens appears to be an exceptional and wonderfully specialised characteristic in currently known animals and plants. It will serve as a valuable platform from which bio-inspired optical technologies can spring."

The golden jewel beetle is prized by collectors because of its resemblance to the precious metal.

Other scarab beetles, valued by ancient cultures such as the Egyptians for use as amulets which were sometimes wrapped in the bandages of mummies, are a jewel-like green and blue colours. The vast majority of brightly-coloured beetles tend to be green and do not reflect polarised light. These beetles, in comparison to the brilliant golden colour of Chrysina resplendens, lack much more specialised aspects of their exoskeleton's finely detailed structure.

Dr. Ewan Finlayson, research fellow on the project, said: "We were drawn to the study of this jewel scarab not only by its striking metallic golden appearance, but also by its ability to control a less obvious property of the reflected light: the polarisation. We have learned that there is great subtlety and detail to be found in these optical 'signatures' and in the elaborate natural structures that generate them."

The golden jewel scarab beetle Chrysina resplendens, mainly found in the Americas, has evolved an exoskeleton that contains intricate nano-structures that are responsible for its appearance.

The spacing of the repeating layers of the nano-structures is found to vary over a specific range through the exoskeleton -- a key property that causes the simultaneous reflection of a range of visible colours. It is this fact that explains the very bright reflection as well as the golden hue.

The nano-structured exoskeleton is composed of natural materials including chitin and various proteins. In addition to their brilliant reflectiveness, these structures are remarkable in the way they manipulate the way polarised light is reflected.

Their nanostructures produce circularly-polarised light, where the orientation of the light's oscillations rotate as the light travels. The two possible directions of rotation are referred to as left handed and right handed.

The experiments build on the work of an early American scientist called Michelson who, in 1911, looked at the polarised reflection from many different Chrysina beetles, and on the work of Anthony Neville (then at Bristol University) in 1971, who began looking more closely at Chrysina resplendens.

There are around 100 species of Chrysina jewel scarab, which are found exclusively in the New World, mostly in Mexico and Central America. The species Chrysina resplendens is found in Panama and Costa Rica. Chrysina scarabs typically live in mountain forests. The larvae feed on rotting logs of various tree species, while the adults feed on foliage. The larval form lasts for several months to a year, and pupation takes a month or two. After the adult emerges it lives for about a further three months, although this span probably varies between species.

One explanation for the highly-reflective appearance of the beetle exoskeleton is crypsis : the ability of the animal to blend in to its surroundings.

Dr Martin Stevens, Associate Professor of Sensory and Evolutionary Ecology at the University of Exeter and an expert in animal vision, colour change and camouflage, said: "It is not absolutely clear why these beetles are a bright golden colour, but one option is that it somehow works in camouflage under some light conditions. The shiny golden colour could also change how the beetle is seen as it moves, potentially dazzling a would-be predator. There are many species which are iridescent but jewel beetles are one of the most charismatic and brightly coloured, and their colour might be used in mating. However, it is not clear how other beetles see the gold colour and reflected light. Many small mammals would not be able to distinguish the golden colour from reds, greens, and yellows, but a predatory bird would likely be able to see these colours well."

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insects (including butterflies); cats; nature; animals; new species; beer and wine; biology; invasive species

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Secret of why jewel scarab beetles look like pure gold, explained by physicists: 'All that glitters is not gold,' finds research program into way jewel beetles reflect light

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The secrets of why central-American jewel scarab beetles look like they are made from pure gold, has been uncovered by physicists at the University of Exeter. The ornate beetles, which have a brilliant metallic gold colour, are highly valued by collectors. But until now the reasons behind their golden iridescent hue, have not been fully understood.

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The amiable bess beetles ( family Passalidae) make great classroom pets, and are fun to watch. Bess beetles are so much more than cute; they're also some of the most sophisticated bugs on the planet. Don't believe it? Consider these 10 fascinating facts about bess beetles.

Passalids live in hardwood logs, munching away on the tough tree fibers and turning them into new soil. They prefer oak, hickory, and maple, but will set up shop in just about any hardwood log that has sufficiently decayed. If you're looking for bess beetles, turn over rotting logs on the forest floor. In the tropics, where bess beetles are more diverse, a single log may house as many as 10 different Passalid species.

Within their log homes, both bess beetle parents reside with their offspring. With their powerful mandibles, they excavate rooms and passages to house their family. The bess beetle family guards its home against any and all intruders, including other unrelated bess beetles. In some species, a large, extended family of individuals lives together in a colony. This subsocial behavior is quite unusual among beetles.

Like many other insects - crickets, grasshoppers, and cicadas, for example - bess beetles use sounds to communicate with one another. What's remarkable, however, is how sophisticated their language seems to be. One North American species, Odontotaenius disjunctis, produces 14 distinct sounds, presumably with different meanings. An adult bess beetle "talks" by rubbing a hardened part of its hindwings against spines on the dorsal surface of its abdomen, a behavior known as stridulation. Larvae can communicate, too, by rubbing their middle and hind legs against each other. Captive bess beetles will complain loudly when disturbed in any way, and squeak audibly when handled.

The vast majority of insect parents simply deposit their eggs and go. A few, like some stink bug mothers, will guard her eggs until they hatch. In fewer still, a parent might stick around long enough to keep her nymphs safe. But rare are the insect parents that remain together as a pair to raise their young to adulthood, and bess beetles are counted among them. Not only do the mother and father bess beetle work together to feed and protect their offspring, but the older larvae stick around to help with rearing their younger siblings.

Like termites and other insects that feed on wood, bess beetles need the help of microorganisms to break down the tough plant fibers. Without these digestive symbionts, they simply couldn't process the cellulose. But bess beetles aren't born with these vital fungi and bacteria living in their guts. The solution? They eat their own poop, much like rabbits do, to keep a healthy number of microorganisms in their digestive tracts. Without enough frass in its diet, a bess beetle will die.

Baby bess beetles are at an even greater digestive disadvantage, because their mandibles aren't strong enough to chew wood and they lack gut microorganisms. So mama and papa bess beetle start their babies out in a cradle made of masticated wood and frass. In fact, when a bess beetle larva reaches its final instar and is ready to pupate, its parents and siblings work together to construct it a cocoon made of frass. That's how important poop is to a Passalid.

Members of the family Passalidae go by a long list of common names: bessbugs, bessiebugs, betsy beetles, bess beetles, horned passalus beetles, patent leather beetles, peg beetles, and horn beetles. The many variations on bess seems to derive from the French word baiser, which means "to kiss," and is likely a reference to the smooching sound they make when they stridulate. If you've seen one, you already know why some people call them patent leather beetles - they're quite shiny and black, like patent leather shoes.

The first time you see a bess beetle, you might be a bit intimidated. They're hefty insects, often well over 3 cm long, with the massive mandibles you'd expect from a beetle that eats wood. But rest assured, they don't bite, and don't even grab hold of your fingers with their feet the way scarab beetles do. Because they're so easygoing and big, they make good first pets for young insect lovers. If you're a teacher interested in keeping insects in your classroom, you won't find one easier to care for and handle than the bess beetle.

The family Passalidae includes roughly 600 described species, and nearly all of them live in tropical habitats. Only four species are known from the U.S. and Canada, and of these, two species haven't been seen for decades. Some bess beetle species are endemic, meaning they live only in a certain area, such as on an isolated mountain or a particular island.

The only prehistoric Passalid known from the fossil record is Passalus indormitus, collected in Oregon. Passalus indormitus dates to the Oligocene epoch, and lived about 25 million years ago. There are no known bess beetles living in the Pacific Northwest today, interestingly. Passalus indormitus is most similar to Passalus punctiger, a living species that inhabits Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America.

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The amiable bess beetles ( family Passalidae) make great classroom pets, and are fun to watch. Bess beetles are so much more than cute; they're also some of the most sophisticated bugs on the planet. Don't believe it? Consider these 10 fascinating facts about bess beetles.

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Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

Author

Quentin Coleman has written for various publications, including All Pet News and Safe to Work Australia. He spent more tan 10 years nursing kittens, treating sick animals and domesticating semi-feral cats for a local animal shelter. He graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

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Author Quentin Coleman has written for various publications, including All Pet News and Safe to Work Australia. He spent more tan 10 years nursing kittens, treating sick animals and domesticating semi-feral cats for a local animal shelter. He graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

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Problems with tenlined June beetle have most often occurred when a sandy, virgin soil, formerly with sagebrush as the dominant plant, has been planted to orchard. Young trees in this situation that grow poorly, despite adequate irrigation and nutrients, should be examined for grubs. An untreated problem may persist many years after the orchard is planted.

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A crucifix ground beetle (Panagaeus cruxmajor) got Charles Darwin into trouble in 1828.

Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it is one of the 10 most species-rich animal families. They belong to the Adephaga. Members of the family are primarily carnivorous, but some members are herbivorous or omnivorous.

Although their body shapes and coloring vary somewhat, most are shiny black or metallic and have ridged wing covers ( elytra). The elytra are fused in some species, particularly the large Carabinae, rendering the beetles unable to fly. The species Mormolyce phyllodes is known as violin beetle due to their peculiarly shaped elytra. All carabids except the quite primitive flanged bombardier beetles (Paussinae) have a groove on their fore leg tibiae bearing a comb of hairs used for cleaning their antennae.

A Brachinus species typical bombardier beetle (Brachininae: Brachinini) from North Carolina

Defensive secretions

Typical for the ancient beetle suborder Adephaga to which they belong, they have paired pygidial glands in the lower back of the abdomen. These are well developed in ground beetles, and produce noxious or even caustic secretions used to deter would-be predators. In some, commonly known as bombardier beetles, these secretions are mixed with volatile compounds and ejected by a small combustion, producing a loud popping sound and a cloud of hot and acrid gas that can injure small mammals, such as shrews, and is liable to kill invertebrate predators outright.

To humans, getting "bombed" by a bombardier beetle is a decidedly unpleasant experience.[citation needed ] This ability has evolved independently twice, as it seems, in the flanged bombardier beetles (Paussinae), which are among the most ancient ground beetles, and in the typical bombardier beetles ( Brachininae), which are part of a more "modern" lineage. The Anthiini, though, can mechanically squirt their defensive secretions for considerable distances and are able to aim with a startling degree of accuracy; in Afrikaans, they are known as ("eye-pissers"). In one of the very few known cases of a vertebrate mimicking an arthropod, juvenile Heliobolus lugubris lizards are similar in color to the aposematic oogpister beetles, and move in a way that makes them look surprisingly similar to the insects at a casual glance.

A folk story claims that Charles Darwin once found himself on the receiving end of a bombardier beetle's attack, based on a passage in his autobiography. Darwin stated in a letter to Leonard Jenyns that a beetle had attacked him on that occasion, but he did not know what kind:

A Cychrus rostratus once squirted into my eye & gave me extreme pain; & I must tell you what happened to me on the banks of the Cam in my early entomological days; under a piece of bark I found two carabi (I forget which) & caught one in each hand, when lo & behold I saw a sacred Panagæus crux major; I could not bear to give up either of my Carabi, & to lose Panagæus was out of the question, so that in despair I gently seized one of the carabi between my teeth, when to my unspeakable disgust & pain the little inconsiderate beast squirted his acid down my throat & I lost both Carabi & Panagæus!

A Lophyra sp. tiger beetle from Tanzania

Common habitats are under the bark of trees, under logs, or among rocks or sand by the edge of ponds and rivers. Most species are carnivorous and actively hunt for any invertebrate prey they can overpower. Some run swiftly to catch their prey; tiger beetles (Cicindelinae) can sustain speeds of 9 km/h (5.6 mph) - in relation to their body length they are among the fastest land animals on Earth. Unlike most Carabidae, which are nocturnal, the tiger beetles are active diurnal hunters and often brightly coloured; they have large eyes and hunt by sight. Ground beetles of the species Promecognathus laevissimus are specialised predators of the cyanide millipede Harpaphe haydeniana, countering the hydrogen cyanide that makes these millipedes poisonous to most carnivores.

As predators of invertebrates, including many pests, most ground beetles are considered beneficial organisms. The caterpillar hunters ( Calosoma) are famous for their habit of devouring prey in quantity, eagerly feeding on tussock moth (Lymantriidae) caterpillars, processionary caterpillars (Thaumetopoeidae) and woolly worms (Arctiidae), which, due to their urticating hairs, are avoided by most insectivores. Large numbers of the forest caterpillar hunter ( C. sycophanta), native to Europe, were shipped to New England for biological control of the gypsy moth ( Lymantria dispar) as early as 1905.

A few species are nuisance pests. is one of the few herbivorous ground beetle genera, and on rare occasions Zabrus tenebrioides, for example, occurs abundantly enough to cause some damage to grain crops. Large species, usually the Carabinae, can become a nuisance if present in large numbers, particularly during outdoor activities such as camping; they void their defensive secretions when threatened, and in hiding among provisions, their presence may spoil food. Since ground beetles are generally reluctant or even unable to fly, mechanically blocking their potential routes of entry is usually easy. The use of insecticides specifically for carabid intrusion may lead to unfortunate side effects, such as the release of their secretions, so it generally is not a good idea unless the same applications are intended to exclude ants, parasites or other crawling pests.

Especially in the 19th century and to a lesser extent today, their large size and conspicuous coloration, as well as the odd morphology of some (e.g. the Lebiini), made many ground beetles a popular object of collection and study for professional and amateur coleopterologists. High prices were paid for rare and exotic specimens, and in the early to mid-19th century, a veritable "beetle craze" occurred in England. As mentioned above, Charles Darwin was an ardent collector of beetles when he was about 20 years old, to the extent that he would rather scour the countryside for rare specimens with William Darwin Fox, John Stevens Henslow, and Henry Thompson than to study theology as his father wanted him to do. In his autobiography, he fondly recalled his experiences with and , and wrote:

No poet ever felt more delight at seeing his first poem published than I did at seeing in Stephen's Illustrations of British Insects the magic words, "captured by C. Darwin, Esq."

The Adephaga are documented since the end of the Permian, about 250 million years ago (Mya). Ground beetles evolved in the latter Triassic, having separated from their closest relatives by 200 Mya. The family diversified throughout the Jurassic, and the more advanced lineages, such as the Harpalinae, underwent a vigorous radiation starting in the Cretaceous. The closest living relatives of the ground beetles are the false ground beetles (Trachypachidae) and the tiger beetles (Cicindelidae). They are sometimes even included in the Carabidae as subfamilies or as tribes incertae sedis, but more preferably they are united with the ground beetles in the superfamily Caraboidea, or Geadephaga.

Much research has been done on elucidating the phylogeny of the ground beetles and adjusting systematics and taxonomy accordingly. While no completely firm consensus exists, a few points are generally accepted: The ground beetles seemingly consist of a number of more basal lineages and the extremely diverse Harpalinae, which contain over half the described species and into which several formerly independent families had to be subsumed.

Subfamilies

The taxonomy used here is primarily based on the Catalogue of Life and the Carabcat Database. Other classifications, while generally agreeing with the division into a basal radiation of more primitive lineages and the more advanced group informally called "Carabidae Conjunctae", differ in details. For example, the system used by the Tree of Life Web Project makes little use of subfamilies, listing most tribes as incertae sedis as to subfamily. Fauna Europaea, though, splits rather than lumps the Harpalinae, restricting them to what in the system used here is the tribe Harpalini. The exclusion of Trachypachidae as a separate family is now amply supported, as is the inclusion of Rhysodidae as a subfamily, closely related to Paussinae and Siagoninae.

The exclusive Harpalinae is presented here, because the majority of authors presently use this system, following the Carabidae of the World, Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, or the Carabcat Database (which is reflected the Catalogue of Life).

Tiger Beetles have historically been treated as a subfamily of Carabidae under the name Cicindelinae, but several studies since 2020 indicated that they should be treated as a family, Cicindelidae, a sister group to Carabidae.

1. ^ Gomes Gonçalves, Marcos Paulo (December 2017). "Relationship Between Meteorological Conditions and Beetles in Mata de Cocal". Revista Brasileira de Meteorologia. 32 (4): 543-554. doi:10.1590/0102-7786324003. ISSN 0102-7786.

2. ^ B. Kromp (1999). "Carabid beetles in sustainable agriculture: a review on pest control efficacy, cultivation aspects and enhancement". Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 74 (1-3): 187-228. doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(99)00037-7.

3. ^ Lövei, Gábor L.; Sunderland, Keith D. (January 1996). "Ecology and Behavior of Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)". Annual Review of Entomology. 41 (1): 231-256. doi:10.1146/annurev.en.41.010196.001311. ISSN 0066-4170. PMID 15012329.

4. ^ R. B. Huey & E. R. Pianka (1977). "Natural selection for juvenile lizards mimicking noxious beetles". . 195 (4274): 201-203. Bibcode:1977Sci...195..201H. doi:10.1126/science.831272. PMID 831272.

5. ^ "Young Naturalist, A Lifelong Passion". Darwin. American Museum of Natural History. 2005. Archived from the original on December 21, 2010.

6. ^ Nora Barlow, ed. (1958). "Cambridge, 1828-1831". The Autobiography of Charles Darwin. pp. 56-71.

7. ^ Charles Darwin (1846). "Letter to Leonard Jenyns, October 17, 1846". Archived from the original on September 22, 2009.

8. ^ "When tiger beetles chase prey at high speeds they go blind temporarily, Cornell entomologists learn - Cornell Chronicle". www.news.cornell.edu.

9. ^ Vasilikopoulos, A., Balke, M., Kukowka, S., Pflug, J.M., Martin, S., Meusemann, K., Hendrich, L., Mayer, C., Maddison, D.R., Niehuis, O., Beutel, R.G. and Misof, B. (2021), Phylogenomic analyses clarify the pattern of evolution of Adephaga (Coleoptera) and highlight phylogenetic artefacts due to model misspecification and excessive data trimming. Syst Entomol, 46: 991-1018. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12508

10. ^ Shōzō Ōsawa, Zhi-Hui Su & Yūki Inmura (2004). Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of Carabid Ground Beetles. Springer. ISBN 4-431-00487-4.

11. ^ David R. Maddison (April 11, 2006). "Carabidae. Ground beetles and tiger beetles". Tree of Life Web Project.

E. Csiki (1946). Die Käferfauna des Karpaten-Beckens [The beetle fauna of the Carparthian basin] (in German). Budapest. pp. 71-546.

K. Kult (1947). Klíč k určování brouků čeledi Carabidae Československé republiky [Key to the beetles of family Carabidae of the Czech Republic] (in Czech). Prague.

C. H. Lindroth (1942). Coleoptera, Carabidae. Svensk Insectenfauna, Vol. 9 (in Swedish). Stockholm. pp. 1-260.

Edmund Reitter (1908-1917). Die Käfer des Deutschen Reiches [The beetles of the German Empire] (in German). Stuttgart: K. G. Lutz.

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Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it is one of the 10 most species-rich animal families. They belong to the Adephaga.

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Goliath beetle

Based on weight and bulk, goliath beetles are strong contenders for the title of largest insects on Earth.

Native to Africa, males of these species can grow to over 4 inches, and can weigh as much as 100 grams (3.5 ounces) in their larval stage. They typically don't move much in the mornings when it is cool and stay in a lethargic state, reports the Royal Museum for Central Africa. But once they are warmed by the sun, they become more active. They'll fly away when they are frightened.

Though they are believed to be primarily vegetarian in the wild, they have shown a voracious appetite for protein in captivity, and captive beetles are often fed dog and cat food.

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Based on weight and bulk, goliath beetles are strong contenders for the title of largest insects on Earth. Native to Africa, males of these species can grow to over 4 inches, and can weigh as much as 100 grams (3.5 ounces) in their larval stage.

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About Aquatic Invertebrates in Missouri

Missouri's streams, lakes, and other aquatic habitats hold thousands of kinds of invertebrates - worms, freshwater mussels, snails, crayfish, insects, and other animals without backbones. These creatures are vital links in the aquatic food chain, and their presence and numbers tell us a lot about water quality.

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Groups of these aquatic beetles swim on the surface of water in quick, random patterns, searching for food. They have two pairs of eyes-one pair above the water, and one pair below-which helps them to quickly and accurately capture their prey.

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Members of this family are found on every continent, except Antarctica and Australia, being more common in the tropics. In 2005, a possible fossilized specimen of Dryopidae was found in the Crato Formation by entomologists David Grimaldi and Michael S. Engel.

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The flying, twinkling lights of fireflies are a mystical summer attraction. While lightning bugs are common in nature, there's a few things you might not know about them.

Here are 12 fun and interesting facts about nature's glowing wonder:

1. They are beetles

The name "firefly" is a little misleading. Fireflies are nocturnal members of Lampyridae (which in Greek means "to shine") a family of winged beetles. But "firebeetles" doesn't have the same ring to it. There are more than 2,000 species of fireflies. And only some of those species have the ability to light up (see No. 3).

2. Fireflies are just one type of bioluminescent species

Fireflies are probably one of the more popular of these species, but they're definitely not alone in their ability to light up. Most of their bioluminescent peers live in the ocean so people don't have as much contact with them. Their light is created by a chemical reaction during which oxygen combines with calcium, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and luciferin with the help of the enzyme luciferase. When they are larvae, fireflies use their bioluminescence to scare off predators.

3. Not all fireflies have the "fire"

Fireflies aren't just abundant in the eastern states, the west has them as well, they just don't light up over there. Those who don't produce light are usually most active during the day. Non-bioluminescent fireflies use pheromones to attract mates.

4. Scientists discovered luciferase because of fireflies

When it was first discovered, the only way to obtain the chemical was to extract it from fireflies themselves. Eventually, scientists figured out how to create synthetic luciferase. Some people still collect the enzyme from the flying lanterns. Luciferase is used in scientific research for food safety testing and some forensic tests.

5. Fireflies are energy efficient

Fireflies' lights are the most efficient lights in the world. One-hundred percent of the energy created is emitted through the light. In comparison, an incandescent bulb emits 10 percent of its energy as light and a fluorescent bulb emits 90 percent of its energy through light. Fireflies' efficiency is partly do to luciferin's heat resistant properties.

6. Their light shows are mating acts

Most of the fireflies flying around are males looking for a mate. Each species has a specific light pattern that they use to communicate with each other. Once a female spots a male she likes, she will respond with the same light pattern. Usually females are perched on plants, waiting for a mate.

7. Some species synchronize their flashing

Scientists aren't sure why fireflies do this, but some theories include competition or to make them more noticeable. If a bunch of male fireflies are flashing the pattern at the same time, they are more likely to attract females. The only species of fireflies in America that do this are the Photinus carolinus. They live in the Great Smoky Mountains and the U.S. National Park Service organizes watch parties for the shows.

8. Not all firefly light looks the same

Each species has their own specific color of light they produce. Some glow blue or green while others glow orange or yellow.

9. They taste disgusting

Unlike cicadas, these summer bugs should not be cooked, baked or grilled. If you do try to eat a firefly, it will probably taste bitter. The beetles can even be poisonous to some animals. When fireflies are attacked, they shed drops of blood. The blood contains chemicals that create the bitter taste and poison. Most animals have learned this and avoid munching on fireflies.

10. Fireflies sometimes practice cannibalism

When fireflies are still in the larvae stage, they snack on snails. Usually as they mature, they move away from meat. Scientists believe adult fireflies live off of nectar and pollen or they don't eat at all. But others, especially the Photuris fireflies enjoy their own kind. Photuris females often eat males of other genera. They attract the unsuspecting males by mimicking their light pattern.

11. Their numbers are declining

There are several reasons why firefly populations are declining, including climate change and the harvesting of luciferase from them (see No. 4), light pollution and habitat destruction. When firefly habitats are destroyed for roads or other construction, they don't migrate to a new spot, they simply disappear.

12. Enjoying the light show in your yard can help scientists

Your observations can help scientists learn more about fireflies and why they're disappearing. Enjoy the show and help save the insect at the same time.

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The flying, twinkling lights of fireflies are a mystical summer attraction. While lightning bugs are common in nature, there's a few things you might not know about them. Here are 12 fun and interesting facts about nature's glowing wonder: 1. They are beetles The name "firefly" is a little misleadin...

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The tiger beetle can run so fast that it blinds itself.

There are 2,600 species of these long-legged predatory insects, and the fastest can sprint at up to 5 miles per hour, covering 120 of its body lengths in a single second. For comparison, Usain Bolt covers just 5 body lengths per second. To match the beetle, he'd have to run at 480 miles per hour.

Tiger beetles use this incredible speed to run down both prey and mates. But as they sprint, their environment becomes a blur because their eyes simply can't gather enough light to form an image. They have extremely sharp vision for insects, but when they're running, the world smears into a featureless smudge. To compensate, the beetle has to stop to spot its prey again, before resuming the chase.

It seems like a bad evolutionary joke: a hunter that loses sight of its prey whenever it runs.

But tiger beetles don't mind because... well... they are really, really fast. They can afford to stop in the middle of a chase because they are so ridiculously quick when they're in motion. It's like the aforementioned Bolt pausing at the 50-metre mark for a drink, and still winning.

Cole Gilbert at Cornell University discovered the tiger beetles' staccato hunting style in 1998. Now, together with Daniel Zurek, he has worked out how they cope with another problem: obstacles.

At high speed, it's hard enough to avoid incoming obstacles. But try doing it when your eyes can't make out anything, much less small pebbles or sticks. A running tiger beetle is permanently in "collision mode", says Zurek. "It's like when I'm driving a car really fast and not wearing my glasses. When something hops in the road, I can't stop in time."

He discovered how they cope by watching an American species-the hairy-necked tiger beetle, Cicindela hirticollis. When it runs, it always keeps its antennae in the same fixed position: straight ahead, angled at a V, and held slightly above the ground. The antennae can move, but they never do while the beetle's in motion.

The antennae are obstacle-detectors. If they hit an obstacle, their flexible tips bend back before springing forwards again. The beetle moves too fast to change course, but it can tip its body slightly upwards so that it skitters over the obstacle rather than running headlong into it. It's like a blind person holding two white canes (and wearing rocket skates).

"Because of their shape, the antennae can slip over the edge of an obstacle, which tells the beetles that there's a top they can run over," says Zurek. He saw how effective this is by filming tiger beetles running down a long track with a piece of wood in the middle. If their antennae were intact, they cleared the obstacle most of the time, even when Zurek painted over their eyes. But if he cut the antennae off, the beetles frequently face-planted into the wood.

This solution is not only effective, but cheap. The beetles could potentially deal with motion blur by evolving more sensitive eyes, but it takes a huge amount of energy to pay for an eye with good temporal resolution. They would also have to analyse that information, and their small brains probably don't have the processing power. Fortunately, they don't need anything that over-engineered. Their antennae provide them with all the collision-detection they need.

Zurek thinks that human engineers should take note. One of the first autonomous robots- Shakey -found its way around with some "bump detectors". If they hit an obstacle, they bent, and Shakey would back up.

But modern robots rely on cameras. NASA's Curiosity rover, for example, is currently trundling over Mars with the help of eight hazard avoidance cameras, or Hazcams. "As humans, we tend to think first and foremost from a visual standpoint," he says. "Many really sophisticated robots rely on an array of cameras that analyse on the fly, which is very computationally intensive." The tiger beetle's solution would be simpler, and might help robots to move much faster than Curiosity's leisurely pace.

PS: How does one catch an insect that moves so quickly? With great difficulty at first, but Zurek says, "It's pretty fun once you get the hang of it," he says. "You have to fool them by coming up behind them really slowly and then lowering yourself. I get them around 60 percent of the time."

Reference: Zurek & Gilbert. 2014. Static antennae act as locomotory guides that compensate for visual motion blur in a diurnal, keen-eyed predator. Proceedings of the Royal Society B http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.3072

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Meet The Predator That Becomes Blind When It Runs After Prey

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The tiger beetle can run so fast that it blinds itself. There are 2,600 species of these long-legged predatory insects, and the fastest can sprint at up to 5 miles per hour, covering 120 of its body lengths in a single second. For comparison, Usain Bolt covers just 5 body lengths per second.

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Editor Picks: 10 Must-visit Zoo Animals

Editor Picks is a list series for Britannica editors to provide opinions and commentary on topics of personal interest. I love going to the zoo. (Chicago, where Britannica is headquartered,...

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Editor Picks: 10 Must-visit Zoo Animals Editor Picks is a list series for Britannica editors to provide opinions and commentary on topics of personal interest. I love going to the zoo. (Chicago, where Britannica is headquartered,...

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Map of South America

Hercules Beetle

The Hercules beetle is one of the largest species of beetle in the world, and is natively found in the jungles of South America. The Hercules beetle is the largest and most well known of all of the rhinoceros beetles, a group of large beetles that are closely related to the famous scarab beetle.

The Hercules beetle is found throughout the tropical jungles and rainforests of Central and South America, where the Hercules beetle spends the majority of it's time foraging through the leaf-litter on the forest floor in search of something to eat. The fallen debris also helps to hide this enormous insect as it moves about.

There are thirteen known species of Hercules beetle found in the jungles of South America and the Hercules beetle was named for it's sheer size as some males have been known to reach nearly 7 inches in length. Although it is quite rare for these beetles to get quite so big, the average adult Hercules beetle is usually between four and fifteen centimetres long depending on the species.

The most distinctive feature of the Hercules beetle has to be the enormous horn-like pincers which protrude from the forehead of the males. These horns can grow longer than the Hercules beetle's body and are mainly used for solving disputes with other male Hercules beetles. Female Hercules beetles do not have horns but their bodies are thought to be larger, but shorter than their male counterparts.

The Hercules beetle is an omnivorous animal but it;'s diet both in it's larvae and adult stages, is primarily made up of decaying plant matter. Rotting wood is the favoured meal of the Hercules beetle, along with fruits and other plant matter and the occasional small insect.

The Hercules beetle is said to be the strongest creature on earth for its size, able to carry 850 times its own body weight but these enormous insects are still hunted by numerous animals throughout the jungles of Central and South America. Bats, rats and birds are the main predators of the Hercules beetle along with reptiles and omnivorous mammals.

The larval stage of the Hercules beetle will last one to two years, with the larva growing up to 4.5 inches in length and weighing up to 120 grams. Much of the life of the Hercules beetle larva is spent tunnelling through it's primary food source of rotting wood. After the larval period, transformation into a pupa, and moulting occur, with the Hercules beetle then emerging as an adult.

Today, the Hercules beetle is threatened as much of it's natural habitat has been lost to deforestation or been affected by both air and water pollution.

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The Hercules beetle is one of the largest species of beetle in the world, and is natively found in the jungles of South America. The Hercules beetle is the largest and most well known of all of the rhinoceros beetles, a group of large beetles that are closely...

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Ladybugs, also called lady beetles or ladybird beetles, are a very beneficial group. They are natural enemies of many insects, especially aphids and other sap feeders. A single lady beetle may eat as many as 5,000 aphids in its lifetime. Many species of lady beetles are present in Kentucky and they are common in most habitats.

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The Rhinoceros Beetle (or Rhino Beetle) belongs to the subfamily (Dynastinae) and is part of the family of scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae).

Rhinoceros Beetles are among the largest of beetles in the world. The Rhinoceros Beetle is aptly named because it has horns on its head, very much like the rhinoceros does.

Rhino Beetles reach 60 millimetres in length. They have two horns, one on the top of the head and the other projecting forward from the middle of the thorax. Each horn is slightly forked at the end. The two horns almost meet and by moving its head the beetle can pinch weakly with them.

The male Rhinoceros Beetles use their horns in mating battles against other males. Scientists believe that the beetle has become so strong to be able to forage through heavy litter on the jungle floor and dig its way to safety. Using its horns, it can dig its way out of a sticky situation by burying itself underground, escaping danger.

The best protection they have from predators is their usually large size combined with being nocturnal (activity being at night). During the day, they hide under logs or in vegetation and are invisible from the few predators big enough to want to eat them. The fearsome appearance of these beetles is increased by the loud hissing squeaks they give when disturbed. The hissing squeak is merely a bluff and is produced by rubbing the abdomen against the ends of the wing covers. If a squeaking beetle is examined closely, the abdomen can be seen moving in time with the squeaks.

Their larval stage is long, several years in some species. As with all beetles, the Rhinoceros Beetle larvae (grubs) hatch from eggs and develop into pupae and these eventually develop into adult beetles. Each female lays about 50 white eggs. Adults feed on nectar, plant sap and fruit. In spite of their size, they do not eat very much. The larvae, on the other hand, eat a great deal of rotting wood or the compost in which they live. Rhino beetles have three instars, that is, they go through three molts before changing into the pupae stage. It is not possible to say what the average life span is because the name rhino beetle refers to about 300 different species of scarab beetles, some live in tropical countries and some live in North America and so the length of their lives varies a lot.

In spite of their fierce appearance, they are all totally harmless. They cannot bite or sting or hurt you with their horns. The horn of the male is not used for protection but rather for the occasional battle with another male over a feeding site. The victorious male with the feeding site can then often attract a mate. Female Rhino Beetles have no horns. The females are quite plain and less frequently seen.

Rhinoceros beetles are the strongest animals on the planet, proportionally. They can lift up to 850 times their own weight. To put this into perspective, if a human of average height and weight had the strength of the rhinoceros beetle, it would be able to lift a 65 ton object. You would also think something as massive as an elephant would be able to carry more weight than a little insect. However, A huge African elephant can only carry up to 25% of its own weight on its back and as the Rhino Beetle can carry 850 times their own weight, there is no contest. That would be like an elephant carrying 850 elephants on its back.

Rhinoceros Beetles can fly strongly and are attracted to lights at night. They are generally noticed when they come to house lights or when they are seen lying beneath street lights and on the concrete tarmacs of petrol stations. In Brisbane they are only seen in the summer months, but in the tropical north they can be found at anytime of the year.

Rhinoceros beetles are popular childrens pets in Asia. They are clean, easy to maintain and safe to handle. In Asian countries, male beetles are also used for gambling fights since they naturally compete for female beetles with the winner knocking the other off a log.

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Rhinoceros Beetle - Facts, Information & Pictures

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The Rhinoceros Beetle (or Rhino Beetle) belongs to the subfamily (Dynastinae) and is part of the family of scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae). Rhinoceros Beetles are among the largest of beetles in the world. The Rhinoceros Beetle is aptly named because it has horns on its head, very much like the rhinoceros does.

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golden tortoise beetle charidotella bicolor coleoptera chrysomelidae john capinera

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golden tortoise beetle - Charidotella bicolor (Fabricius)

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Very little biological information is available on this species, probably reflecting its slight economic importance. In the northern states there usually is only one generation annually. In New Jersey the beetles first appear in May or June, commence feeding on weeds, and deposit eggs soon thereafter.

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Chrysolina americana , common name rosemary beetle, is a species of beetles belonging to the family Chrysomelidae.

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The Asian long-horned beetle ( Anoplophora glabripennis), also known as the starry sky, sky beetle, or ALB, is native to eastern China, Japan, and Korea. This species has now been accidentally introduced into the United States, where it was first discovered in 1996, as well as Canada, and several countries in Europe, including Austria, France, Germany, Italy and UK.

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Lizard beetle: Lizard beetle, (family Languriidae), any of some 400 species of long, narrow beetles (insect order Coleoptera), most of which are found in Asia and North America.

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Habitat: Australia
Status: Not Evaluated

Now this is one beetle that must have incredible radio reception! The Feather-horned Beetle (Rhipicera femorata) is a rather uncommon, tiny species of beetle of which very little is known about its biology.

Adults range in size from 10-25mm in length and are easily recognized by their over-sized fan-like antennae. You might not think it from the photos above, but when viewed from a "human eye view" you really can see just how tiny these guys are!

The males differ from the females in that their anntenae are much larger and more pronounced. Those anntenae are unique due to the fact that they have more than 20 segments and arise from small knob-like prominences. They sort of remind me of big, bushy eyebrows!

It's known that the males will use their fan tastic (hah!) anntenae to locate a female feather-horned beetle that's emitting pheromones which indicate she is ready for mating.

I bet most human males now wish they had these... would definitely come in handy.

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Meet the Feather-horned Beetle with Huge, Bushy 'Eyebrows'! | Featured Creature

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Habitat: Australia Status: Not Evaluated Now this is one beetle that must have incredible radio reception! The Feather-horned Beetle (Rhipicera femorata) is a rather uncommon, tiny species of beetle of which very little is known about its biology. Adults range in size from 10-25mm in length and are easily recognized by their over-sized fan-like antennae.

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(In General)

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A Weevil is any beetle from the 'Curculionoidea' superfamily. They are usually small, less than 6 millimetres (¼ inch) and herbivorous. Due to the shape of their heads, weevils are commonly known as 'snout beetles'. The adult weevils have a snout and are about one-fourth inch long.

Weevil beetles may be reddish-brown, grey, or almost black in colour.

A distinguishing feature is the presence of two spurs on the first joint (femur) of each front leg.

There are over 60,000 species in several families, mostly in the family Curculionidae (the true weevils). Some other beetles, although not closely related, bear the name 'weevil', such as the 'Biscuit Weevil' (Stegobium paniceum), which belongs to the family 'Anobiidae'.

Many weevils are damaging to crops. The 'Grain Weevil' or 'Wheat Weevil' (Sitophilus granarius) damages stored grain. The 'Boll Weevil' (Anthonomus grandis) attacks cotton crops. It lays its eggs inside unripe cotton bolls and the young weevils eat their way out. Adult Boll Weevils spend the winter in ground trash near old cotton fields. Eggs are laid singly in squares and bolls in punctures made by the weevils snout. Feeding punctures appear as small uncapped holes, whereas egg-laying punctures are covered with a small wart-like growth. Both types of punctures will cause squares and small bolls to drop. The white, legless larvae feeds and pupates within the square or boll. The development from egg to adult takes 3 weeks. During the growing season the adults emerge from the square or boll, however, some adults of the previous generation may remain in bolls during hibernation.

Weevils are often found in dry foods including nuts and seeds, cereal and grain products. In the domestic setting, they are most likely to be observed when opening a bag of flour although they will happily infest most types of grain including oats, barley and breakfast cereals. If ingested, E. coli infection and other various diseases can be contracted from weevils, depending on their diet.

Because there are so many species and such diversity, the higher classification of weevils is in a state of flux. Weevils are generally divided into two major divisions:

the 'Orthoceri' or primitive weevils

the 'Gonatoceri' or true weevils (Curculionidae)

Primitive weevils are distinguished by having straight antennae, while true weevils have elbowed (geniculate) antennae. The elbow occurs at the end of the scape (first antennal segment) in true weevils and the scape is usually much longer than the other antennal segments.

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Weevil Beetles - Facts, Information & Pictures

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A Weevil is any beetle from the 'Curculionoidea' superfamily. They are usually small, less than 6 millimetres (¼ inch) and herbivorous. Due to the shape of their heads, weevils are commonly known as 'snout beetles'. The adult weevils have a snout and are about one-fourth inch long.

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Beetles are quite fascinating members of the insect world. There are more than 350,000 different types of beetle, more than any other species on the planet, and they are crucial to the life cycle of their natural habitats. They may be small, but they have a huge impact on life on earth.

Hard case

Beetles have skeletons on the outside, and the frog beetle's exoskeleton is a beautiful metallic hue, like the paint job on a car from the film The Fast and the Furious. Sadly, many thousands of these mini-beasts are destined for the downstairs loo, as they are bred simply to be dried and mounted in a frame.

Thunder thighs

The stout hind legs of Sagra buqueti are where he gets his name, as they resemble those of a frog. Although they look like they could launch the beetle like a grasshopper, they only help power them up slippery surfaces. Most beetle species have wings, but some, like this fellow's, have fallen into evolutionary disuse.

Crunch time

Consider the beetle to be like a gardener (in the case of the frog beetle, his garden is south-east Asia). Its mandibles and jaw are its equivalent of a trusty trowel and fork. They chew up the substrate on the forest floor and deposit their dung back into the earth to help the growth cycle. Ingenious. Also handy for scaring off rivals.

Hey, suckers

Frog beetles are able to climb impossible angles thanks to their "sticky" feet, which in fact carry thousands of tiny hairs. When observing your beetle in a glass vivarium, you'll be able to witness this neat trick.

Dung roamin'

Estimates reckon on there being some 200 million insects to every human being. The important job of tidying up the natural world cannot be underestimated, and in their natural habitat, frog beetles break down dead vegetation and fertilise the ground wherever they go.

Where to get one

The frog beetle is a rare creature and only for experienced keepers, as they are very hard to breed in this country. If you don't have the time or the patience for this high-maintenance pet, have a look instead at Jonathan Cleverly's informative website, jonathansjungleroadshow.co.uk

Reuse content

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Beetles are quite fascinating members of the insect world. There are more than 350,000 different types of beetle, more than any other species on the planet, and they are crucial to the life cycle of their natural habitats. They may be small, but they have a huge impact on life on earth.

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Magnificent Flower Beetle - The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

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A colorful scarab, the magnificent flower beetle visits flowers to eat nectar and pollen. It also feeds on ripe or rotting fruit. Males are larger than females and bear forked horns used in shoving matches with other males to protect their claim to food or a mate.

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The Japanese jewel beetle has been a prized ornament since ancient times, and now researchers have revealed the secret to its scintillating good looks.

Brilliant metallic purples and greens run the length of each beetle's body. Each color band corresponds to varying numbers of stacked chitin layers in its wing covers. These nanoscale layers scramble light and reflect an iridescent sheen, reported a team from the Netherlands and Japan in the Mar. 12 issue of The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

"This surprises me. I've always assumed they had the same number of layers throughout the body," said Dave Kavanaugh, curator of the insect collection at the California Academy of Sciences, who was not involved with the study. "It makes the color change much less accidental."

For many iridescent insects, color seems incidental, a quirk of the cuticle surface. In the insects Kavanaugh studies, surface ridges cause visible iridescence, but their primary job is to deflect water or mud. Many are active at night, when their colors can't be seen. But the Japanese jewel beetle's surface is smooth, and the study's authors suspect that iridescence helps these insects recognize each other and find mates.

If you find yourself in Japan, on a summer walk through the woods, you might find one yourself. If you can't make it to Japan, enjoy these photographs.

Citation: "Polarized iridescence of the multilayered elytra of the Japanese jewel beetle, Chrysochroa fulgidissima." Doekele G. Stavenga, Bodo D. Wilts, Hein L. Leertouwer, Takahiko Hariyama, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, Mar. 11, 2011. DOI:10.1098/rstb.2010.0197.

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Gorgeous Jeweled Beetle Reveals Its Tricks

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The Japanese jewel beetle has been a prized ornament since ancient times, and now researchers have revealed the secret to its scintillating good looks. Brilliant metallic purples and greens run the length of each beetle's body. Each color band corresponds to varying numbers of stacked chitin layers in its wing covers.