23 Beetle Facts For Kids

1. Beetle is the common name for a very large group of insects found in the Coleoptera order.
2. You can usually identify a beetle by its hard shell-like body, mute to vivid colors, and wings behind its shell.
3. The oldest fossil of a beetle discovered by paleontologists was Coleopsis archaica and it was 295 million years old.
4. The distribution of beetle is worldwide, they are found on every continent, except Antarctica.
5. Beetles have evolved to live in a wide variety of habitats, from the dry hot desert to the hot and humid rainforests.
6. The only habitat beetles have failed to establish themselves in is the polar regions.
7. There are more than 400,000 beetle species living around the world.
8. Entomologists believe there could between 500,000 and 1.6 million more beetle species yet to be discovered.
9. It is estimated that more than 40% of all living insect species are beetle species.
10. Beetle species have widely different diets, some beetles are omnivorous, while others are herbivorous or carnivorous.
11. Ab example of a beetle species that us herbivorous is the thistle tortoise beetle (Cassida rubiginosa).
12. An example of a beetle species that is carnivorous is the golden ground beetle (Carabus auratus).
13. An example of a beetle species that is omnivorous is the rainbow scarab (Phanaeus vindex).
14. Beetle come in many different colors, shapes, and sizes, all varying by species.
15. Beetles can have a mute to black color or have brilliant metallic colors.
16. Beetles can be as small as 0.04 inches or as big as 3 inches.
17. The biggest living beetle species in the world is the Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules) with a length of up to 3.3 inches.
18. The heaviest living beetle species in the world is the Goliath beetle (Goliathus regius) with a weight of up to 3.5 ounces.
19. The smallest living beetle species in the world is the feartherwing beetle (Scydosella musawasensis) with a length as short as 0.3 millimeters.
20. Beetles transition through three life stages: egg, larva, and adult.
21. Many beetle species are classified as pests, like the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) which can severely damage potato crops.
22. Some people like to keep beetles as pets, like the gold stag beetle (Lamprima aurata).
23. Beetles played an important role in some ancient civilizations, like the sacred scarab (Scarabaeus sacer) during the Ancient Egyptian times.

Beetle Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on beetles. Below are six pictures of various beetle species. These pictures should help you better understand the different types of beetles found around the world.

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