Beetlemania -- Featuring Claude Chavand's Amazing Photos!

Beetles (Coleoptera) inhabit nearly every habitat on the planet. They include some of our most beautiful and beloved insects, in addition to many insufferable pests. Impressively, there are nearly 400,000 known species of beetles, representing the largest order of insects. Nearly 25% of all known animal species are beetles! And, that is only the KNOWN species of beetles. There are likely a million more undiscovered species.

Not just their numbers, but their variety is staggering. Beetles can be as small as 0.25 mm (the fringed ant beetle, Nanosella fungi) or as large as the titan beetle (Titanus giganteus), reaching 20 cm long and strong enough to snap a pencil with its jaws! Beetles can be aquatic or terrestrial. They live in forests, grasslands, deserts, tundras, beaches, on remote islands, and even on mountaintops. They are nearly everywhere, from pole to pole.

As far as how they impact humans, beetles inspire art, are used in entertainment, food, and medicine. They are biodiversity indicators with their presence or absence providing a measure of habitat quality. Beetles inspire technology: the bombardier beetle’s powerful spray has inspired the development of a fine mist spray technology. The moisture harvesting behavior by the Namib Desert beetle (Stenocara gracilipes) has inspired the development of a self-filling water bottle that could greatly benefit people living in dry regions with no regular rainfall. Furthermore, scientists are experimenting with using live beetles wearing robotic camera backpacks for surveillance!

Many beetles are important pollinators. Others eat fungi, wood, carrion, or dung and aid greatly in decomposition. There are predaceous beetles, which feast upon other invertebrates. There’s even a beaver beetle (Platypsyllus castoris) which lives in beaver pelts and eats dead skin.

Few species are true pests or parasites. Of course, some beetles cause horrifying damage to crops and stored grain, there are also many beneficial beetles. Ladybirds (aka ladybug beetles) eat aphids and other pest species that would cause crop damage. Ground beetles in the family Carabidae are beneficial in that they eat thrips and slugs, among other invertebrates. The same is true for fireflies (family Lampyridae). Soldier beetles (family Cantharidae) are important predators of aphids and Colorado potato beetles. So, despite the presence of some harmful species, many more are actually beneficial.

With so many species of incredible beetles, it’s easy to see why beetlemania is practically contagious. Claude Chavand has a real gift for capturing the beauty of beetles through the lens. Here are some of his photos! #JungleDragon #beetles #Coleoptera

For more beetles:

• Beetle Mania

https://www.jungledragon.com/wildlife/photos/animalia/arthropoda/insecta/coleoptera

To see more photos from Claude:
https://www.jungledragon.com/user/3890/popular

https://www.facebook.com/jungledragonwildlife
Instagram: @jungledragonwildlife