The Life Cycle of a Beetle by Sadie Hudson

Stage 1: The Egg

shudso13 — 2024-04-16 03:53:30 UTC

A beetle's life begins when the mother beetle lays many beetle eggs, typically in fertile, damp areas like rotten wood or rotting leaves. Beetle may also give birth to larva live, and skip the egg phase altogether! If beetles are in egg form, they will remain this way for 7-10 days before growing to the next stage!

Stage 2: Larval

shudso13 — 2024-04-16 03:57:33 UTC

The second stage is the larval stage! Once the beetle hatches from the egg, it will be a worm-like larva. Beetle larvae are extremely hungry, and grow at an extreme rate, molting and growing larger 7-10 times before moving onto the next stage! At this stage, harmful wood-eating beetles tend to complete their well-known damage! Typically, beetles stay in larval form for roughly three months!

Stage 3: Pupal

shudso13 — 2024-04-16 04:01:53 UTC

The third stage of the beetle life cycle is the pupal stage! After the specified time in the larval stage, the beetle will move into its pupal stage. In this stage, the beetle will form the pupa (or cocoon) in which they will later transform! The beetle will form this pupa and will retreat inside, remaining still and dormant. The beetle will remain in the pupal stage for varying amounts of time-- from several days up to several years (depending on the species) before reaching the next stage!

Stage 4: Adult

shudso13 — 2024-04-16 04:06:00 UTC

Once the beetle emerges from the pupa fully transformed, the beetle will be what we recognize as an adult! This is the final stage of the beetle's life cycle, and can last several years to several months, depending on the beetle's species. In this stage, the beetle looks for a partner to mate with, in order to restart the life cycle through their offspring!

Sources:

shudso13 — 2024-04-16 04:13:25 UTC

https://www.terminix.com/. (2023, July 24). Information on the beetle life cycle | Terminix. https://www.terminix.com/blog/bug-facts/the-life-cycle-of-a-beetle/#:~:text=The%20life%20cycle%20of%20a%20beetle%20is%20known%20as%20a,%2C%20larval%2C%20pupal%20and%20adult.

Kazilek. (n.d.). Life cycle. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/life-cycle