Beetles

      Beetles are insects. They make up one of the biggest groups of insects. There are about 300,000 kinds of beetles. They live everywhere except in the ocean. You can find beetles in the house, in the yard, in the forest, even in ponds.

       Like all insects, beetles have six legs. They have two pairs of wings, but they use only the back pair of wings for flying. The front wings are like tough shields. They protect the beetle's body. Some beetles burrow underground. Some swim and dive.

        Beetles come in all shapes and sizes. Some are long and thin, others are round. Some are brightly coloured, others are dull brown or black. Some beetles are so small you can hardly see them, but the biggest beetles are as big as your hand.

       Many beetles hunt other insects for food. Other beetles eat plants. Farmers dislike some beetles because they eat crops. However, many beetles are useful, like the ladybug. It eats harmful insects. Some beetles help clear away nature's garbage. They eat dead plants and animals.

      Beetles have many enemies. Birds, reptiles, and other insects like to eat beetles. Most beetles try to escape by hiding or flying away, but a few beetles fight back. Some can bite. Others can shoot a hot spray of gas at an enemy.

       Beetles grow up in an interesting way. The female beetles lay eggs. The egg hatches into a larva. The larva has a hard covering on the outside of its body, The larva slips out of this covering several times as it grows bigger. This is called molting. After its last molting, the larva changes into a pupa. The pupa looks more like a beetle, but it is softer than an adult beetle. Some beetles spend a whole winter underground as pupas. Finally, an adult beetle crowls out of the pupa's dry shell.

        The largest family of beetles are the weevils, or snout beetles. They use their Long snouts to bore holes in plants. Leaf beetles make up another Large beetle family. One Leaf beetle pest is the Colorado potato beetle, which damages potato crops.

         Ground beetles often come out at night to search for food. Some roving beetles eat plants. Scrab beetles include dung beetles and tumble bugs. These eat balls of animal dung, or solid body waste.

         Two usual kinds of beetles are click beetles and fireflies. Click beetles jump or make a clicking sound if you try to touch them. The firefly, or lightning bug, uses chemicals in its body to make a glowing light. The firefly's light helps it attract a mate when it wants to breed. Some female fireflies are called glow worms.

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