Introduction to beetles

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Beetles, known technically as coleoptera, form the largest order of insects, running to more than 350,000 different species worldwide and about 4,000 in Britain. Beetles are easy to recognise because their front wings form a tough cover for their bodies, like a suit of armour. Most beetles can fly, but spend little time doing so. Leaving aside the water beetles that have chosen an aquatic life, their home is the ground and vegetation that serves as cover.~great diving beetle devils coachhorse beetle

The largest British beetle is the stag beetle, most likely to be seen in early summer when the males fly around clumsily looking for mates. The glow-worm is spectacular in another way: the female is wingless and at night produces a greenish light to attract males.

Tiger and ground beetles are fast-moving hunters that emerge at night to prey on other insects, some of which gardeners regard as pests.~green tiger beetle violet ground beetle

Ladybirds are among the most colourful beetles and again useful to gardeners, because their young feed voraciously on aphids. An introduced species, the harlequin ladybird has the unfortunate habit of feeding on native ladybirds.

Other beetles provide useful waste collection services. The dor beetle feeds on and buries animal dung to feed its young and the sexton beetle does the same with decaying animals.

All these are sizeable insects, but many beetles are very small, such as the soldier beetles and flower beetles found on flower heads.~thick-legged flower beetle