Skip to main content

#9: Beetle Biodiversity

© Christopher Marley

Litinsects #9: Beetle Biodiversity

Take a minute and think about all the different animal species that science has named... from sponges and snails, to earthworms and scorpions, to sharks and birds and humans. What if I told you that a quarter of all the animals that we know of right now on this planet 🌍... are beetles?!

I know it’s hard to imagine...all the people... living life in peace... oh wait, wrong kind of beetle! 😜

There are around 380,000 named beetle species at the moment. They make up about 40% of all insect species but scientists think there could be a MILLION more beetle species that haven’t been discovered yet! They are found in almost every type of habitat except polar regions and the open ocean and come in all shapes, colors, and sizes imaginable.

Now for some fun beetle superlatives:

  • The HERCULES BEETLE is the longest beetle and one of the largest flying insects in the world, measuring up to 17cm (7 in). It can lift 850 times its own weight!

  • The heaviest insect is the GOLIATH BEETLE, weighing in at 100 grams (3.5 ounces) in its larval stage!⚖️

  • The smallest beetle and smallest recorded free-living insect is the FEATHERWING BEETLE, at about 0.3 mm (0.013 in)

  • TIGER BEETLES are the fastest running insects in the world and one of the fastest animals relative to body size. The fastest species can run 9 km/h (5.6 mph) which is like a human running 770 km/h (480 mph)! 🏃‍♀️

  • The longest living insects are SPLENDOUR BEETLES, which can remain in the larval stage more than 30 years!

  • The strongest insect is a DUNG BEETLE that can pull 1,141 times its own weight, which would be like an average-sized human pulling 6 double-decker buses 💪

  • Finally, some of the most beautiful-looking insects are beetles! Many JEWEL BEETLES are iridescent and are used in jewelry and as ornamentation in cultures around the world. Seriously, go and google “beautiful beetles” and tell me there aren’t some really freakin’ cool-looking beetles out there!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

#13: Insect Legs

Litinsects #13: Insect Legs Insect legs can be as diverse as the animals themselves. Some are long and slender like a crane fly’s, some are short and hefty like a mole cricket’s. But what all insects share is the number and layout of those legs. Hexapods have 6 LEGS, a pair each of fore, mid, and hind legs that are made up of the same basic units. Starting closest to the body, they are:  (1) the coxa, which attaches the leg to the thorax  (2) the trochanter (3) the femur, which is oft en the thickest segment  (4) the tibia, often covered in tiny hairs (5) the tarsus, which contains 5 “pseudo-segments”  (6) the pretarsal claws, of which most insects have 2 on each leg The basic units of the leg always occur in this order but may be reduced or highly modified in some species to fit certain tasks such as running, digging, swimming, grasping, or jumping. This photo sums it up perfectly: from < https://wiki.bugwood.org/File:Insect...

WELCOME: Social Distancing Entomology Course

All week I’ve been seeing videos and posts of the creative stuff people have been doing while social distancing, all the while thinking, what could I contribute to all the people sitting at home on social media all day?? Well this morning it hit me. I will do what I do best! And that is... drop some nerd knowledge on you all 🤓 Welcome to my social distancing ENTOMOLOGY COURSE!  Every day I will post an insect photo, most of which I’ve taken through my microscope, and explain about the insect group or the feature pictured. My hope is that you might learn something new about insects and maybe, just mayyyyybe, be a bit more fascinated and a bit less grossed out by the most diverse and arguably most successful group of animals to ever live... thanks for reading, stay tuned 🦋 🦟 🦗 🐞 🐜 🐛

#48: House Dust Mites

Litinsects #48:  Month of Mites, Part 4 One of the most well-known mite species, probably because they live so close to us, is the house dust mite. Just a warning, this one’s super interesting but slightly gross...   © Gilles San Martin Dust mites are microscopically small, 0.2-0.3 mm in size, and have a COSMOPOLITAN distribution. They are found pretty much everywhere humans live Dust is made up of dead human skin cells and also contains hair, dirt, mold spores, pollen, and other microscopic debris. Dust mites feed primarily on dead skin but don’t worry, they DON‘T BITE humans As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, our mattresses, pillows, carpets, and upholstered furniture are FULL of both living and dead dust mites. Since they love warmth, darkness, and humidity and because we shed plenty of dead skin cells while we sleep, our beds are pretty much the ideal place for them to live! Dust mites are well known because they are associated with allergies in about 1-2% of the world popul...