Beetles
Beetles
Beetles, members of the insect order Coleoptera, are among the most diverse groups of animals on Earth. Research on beetles spans taxonomy, evolution, ecology, conservation, agriculture, forest health, behavior, symbiosis, biomechanics, and biotechnology. New species continue to be discovered in tropical forests, caves, cities, museum collections, and even heavily studied environments, demonstrating how much beetle biodiversity remains undocumented.
Diversity, Discovery, and Evolution
Beetle diversity is enormous, with researchers continuing to describe new species, genera, and previously unknown evolutionary lineages. Discoveries range from dozens of new rove beetles and weevils to highly specialized subterranean and flightless species. Citizen scientists, museum collections, genetic analysis, and large-scale biodiversity surveys have all contributed to documenting this diversity.
Fossil and molecular evidence reveals a long evolutionary history stretching back hundreds of millions of years. Beetles diversified into an extraordinary variety of ecological roles, including predators, herbivores, decomposers, pollinators, fungus feeders, scavengers, and parasites. Their evolutionary success has been associated with innovations such as protective wing covers, diverse feeding strategies, chemical defenses, relationships with microorganisms, and ecological opportunities created by flowering plants.
Fossil beetles preserved in amber, fossilized dung, and ancient sediments provide evidence of interactions with dinosaurs, fungi, orchids, flowering plants, and other organisms. These discoveries show that many ecological relationships involving modern beetles have exceptionally ancient origins.
Beetles and Ecosystem Functions
Beetles perform important ecological functions in ecosystems around the world. Dung beetles bury animal waste, recycle nutrients, disperse seeds, suppress parasites, and contribute to plant productivity. Research in East Africa demonstrates that large mammals such as elephants can be crucial to maintaining dung-beetle communities and that the disappearance of large animals can produce cascading losses among dependent insects.
Ground beetles, stag beetles, fireflies, and other groups can also provide information about habitat quality and environmental change. Because beetles occupy so many ecological niches, changes in their abundance and diversity can reveal broader changes occurring within ecosystems.
Beetles also participate in pollination, decomposition, predator-prey relationships, and complex food webs. Some species depend on dead wood, wetlands, forest canopies, animal dung, particular plants, or specialized microorganisms, making them especially sensitive to habitat alteration.
Climate Change, Habitat Loss, and Conservation
Climate change is altering beetle habitats, geographic ranges, seasonal activity, and population dynamics. Temperature can strongly influence dung-beetle diversity, while warming winters may allow destructive forest beetles to expand into previously unsuitable regions. Drought and extreme climatic conditions can further change beetle survival and interactions with host plants.
Habitat structure can determine whether beetle populations increase or decline under changing environmental conditions. Forest canopy, dead wood, wetlands, microclimates, and other small-scale refuges can protect beetles from drought and temperature extremes.
Fireflies and other bioluminescent beetles face additional pressures from artificial lighting, agricultural development, pesticides, habitat fragmentation, and climate change. Conservation strategies therefore include protecting natural habitat, preserving dark nighttime environments, maintaining dead wood and wetlands, reducing harmful pesticide exposure, and improving long-term biodiversity monitoring.
Bark Beetles and Forest Ecosystems
Bark beetles are natural components of forest ecosystems, but some species can undergo enormous population outbreaks capable of killing extensive areas of forest. Mountain pine beetles, spruce beetles, southern pine beetles, and related species interact with drought, tree physiology, forest density, temperature, and other environmental conditions.
Bark-beetle outbreaks can transform forest structure, wildlife habitat, carbon storage, water systems, recreation, timber resources, and other ecosystem services. Their relationship with wildfire is complex; beetle-caused tree mortality does not automatically produce larger fires, and effects can vary according to forest conditions and the amount of time since trees died.
Forest management research examines thinning, preventive forestry, monitoring, direct control, and other approaches for reducing undesirable beetle mortality while recognizing that bark beetles are also natural agents of ecological disturbance.
Invasive and Agricultural Beetles
Several beetle species have become major invasive pests outside their native ranges. The emerald ash borer has killed enormous numbers of ash trees in North America, while Asian longhorned beetles, Japanese beetles, invasive sap beetles, and other species threaten forests, orchards, vineyards, and agricultural crops.
Scientists are developing improved traps, environmental-DNA monitoring, biological controls, targeted host removal, chemical attractants, and other methods for detecting and managing invasive beetles. Public observations can also be important because members of the public sometimes notice invasive insects before formal monitoring programs detect them.
Agricultural research also distinguishes destructive beetles from beneficial species. Some beetles prey on crop pests, recycle animal waste, or provide other ecosystem services. Management practices therefore increasingly consider how pesticides and livestock medications can affect beneficial beetle populations as well as target pests.
Behavior, Symbiosis, and Adaptation
Beetles exhibit remarkably diverse behaviors and adaptations. Burying beetles provide parental care and cooperate or compete over carcasses used to feed their offspring. Sexual selection has produced elaborate weapons, reproductive structures, chemical signals, alternative mating strategies, and evolutionary conflicts between males and females.
Many beetles depend on symbiotic microorganisms. Bacteria and yeasts can help beetles digest difficult foods, obtain essential nutrients, construct strong exoskeletons, or exploit wood and other nutrient-poor resources. Some beetles have evolved highly specialized relationships with fungi, plants, ants, and other animals.
Other adaptations allow beetles to survive extreme environments. Specialized physiological mechanisms help some species conserve water, while subterranean beetles have repeatedly evolved characteristics suited to permanent darkness. Predatory species have developed specialized hunting strategies, and some beetles use chemical or acoustic defenses against predators.
Beetle Biomechanics and Bioinspiration
Beetle anatomy and behavior have inspired technological research. Scientists have investigated beetle wings to design compact flying robots, click-beetle jumping mechanisms to develop miniature jumping machines, and whirligig beetle locomotion to improve fast-moving surface robots.
Bombardier beetles provide models for controlled chemical reactions and pulsed defensive sprays. Desert beetles have inspired surfaces designed to manipulate water condensation, while beetle scales and exoskeletons have influenced research into lightweight materials, optical structures, and sustainable manufacturing.
These examples demonstrate that studying beetles can contribute not only to biology and conservation but also to engineering, robotics, materials science, and other technologies.
Beetles and Biodiversity Research
Beetle collections, biodiversity inventories, citizen-science projects, and genetic databases provide important records of environmental change. Large museum collections preserve millions of specimens, including type specimens used to define species scientifically.
Intensive surveys can reveal hundreds or even more than a thousand beetle species within individual research areas. Such diversity reflects the many ecological functions performed by beetles and makes them valuable subjects for studying ecosystem complexity, evolutionary diversification, environmental change, and conservation priorities.
Continued discoveries also emphasize how incomplete humanity's inventory of beetle diversity remains. Tropical forests, subterranean habitats, remote landscapes, urban environments, and existing museum collections may all contain species that have yet to be scientifically recognized.
Conclusion
Beetles illustrate the extraordinary biological diversity produced by evolution. Their history extends deep into the geological past, while their modern representatives occupy nearly every terrestrial and freshwater environment. They function as predators, herbivores, decomposers, pollinators, ecosystem engineers, agricultural pests, forest disturbance agents, and essential components of complex food webs.
Research also shows that beetles are closely connected to wider environmental change. Climate warming, habitat destruction, invasive species, pesticide use, forest management, and the disappearance of large animals can all reshape beetle communities. At the same time, studying beetles provides insights into conservation, evolution, agriculture, ecosystem resilience, robotics, materials science, and biotechnology.
Protecting beetle diversity therefore means protecting much more than a single group of insects. Because beetles participate in so many ecological processes, their diversity and abundance are intertwined with the functioning and resilience of ecosystems themselves.
Beetles – Categorized, Deduplicated, and Reverse-Sorted
New Species, Taxonomy, and Biodiversity
| Toho University | Phys.org | August 16, 2026
Research on flightless Carabus blaptoides beetles in Japan shows that populations on the same large island evolved different body forms associated with specialized strategies for hunting land snails.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | July 7, 2026
Researchers established the new rove-beetle genus Luffy, named after the One Piece character, and described two species whose unusual anatomy helps clarify relationships within the Staphylinina.
| Kyushu University | ScienceDaily | June 30, 2026
Researchers discovered the tiny ladybird beetle Parastethorus pinicola on a Japanese black pine at Kyushu University, demonstrating that previously unknown beetle species can persist even in heavily studied urban environments.
| Jane M. Macharia et al. | International Journal of Tropical Insect Science | June 19, 2026
Research in a Central Kenyan floodplain found that land use, seasonal conditions and flooding regimes strongly influence beetle species composition, illustrating the sensitivity of beetle communities to environmental change.
| David Brown | Mongabay | June 11, 2026
A long-term Kenyan experiment found dramatically fewer dung beetles where elephants were excluded, providing unusually direct evidence that losing a large keystone animal can trigger losses among dependent insects.
| Joey Pitchford | NC State News | June 2, 2026
Researchers identified Prionus imbricornis as an emerging pest of North Carolina blueberries after its larvae were found damaging the roots of blueberry bushes.
| Fernando Fernández et al. | Journal of Insect Conservation | May 30, 2026
Researchers examine how professional scientists and knowledgeable amateur naturalists can complement one another in documenting and conserving tiger beetles.
| Liz Fuller-Wright | Princeton University | May 29, 2026
A 15-year field experiment in Kenya found major declines in dung-beetle abundance, diversity and ecosystem functions when elephants were experimentally excluded.
| Owen T. Lewis and Eleanor M. Slade | Science | May 28, 2026
This perspective examines evidence that elephant loss can disrupt dung-beetle communities and the nutrient cycling, seed dispersal and waste removal functions those beetles perform.
| Finote Gijsman et al. | Science / PubMed | May 28, 2026
Researchers experimentally demonstrated that elephants are central components of East African dung-beetle food webs and that elephant exclusion reduces both beetle diversity and ecological functions.
| University of Copenhagen | EurekAlert! | May 15, 2026
A taxonomic revision of Chinese Platydracus rove beetles documented more than 100 species, including 61 species newly described to science.
| James Ashworth | Natural History Museum | May 12, 2026
Genetic analysis of tropical ground beetles is helping researchers estimate the enormous amount of undocumented beetle diversity and identify habitats that may deserve greater conservation attention.
| Max Planck Society | Phys.org | May 4, 2026
Scientists discovered that invasive sap beetles can transport a newly identified nematode whose individuals cooperate to form remarkable tower-like structures.
| Smithsonian Environmental Research Center | Smithsonian | 2026
Ongoing beetle inventories at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center surpassed 1,050 species and are being used to investigate ecological change.
| Emma Caton | Natural History Museum / Phys.org | December 22, 2025
The newly described Madagascar beetle Macratria durrelli was named for naturalist Gerald Durrell and forms part of a broader reassessment of the island's antlike flower beetles.
| Melissa Mayer | Entomology Today | August 21, 2025
Scientists discovered the new genus Punctaltica living in moss beside paths in parks in Shenzhen, showing that highly urbanized environments can harbor undocumented biodiversity.
| Mona Patterson | Smithsonian Environmental Research Center | July 10, 2024
Volunteer naturalists Charlie and Sue Staines documented more than 1,000 beetle species on a single Smithsonian research campus in Maryland.
| Senckenberg Research Institute | Phys.org | July 8, 2024
Researchers described Adendrocera carmelita from Guatemala and named it in recognition of the local Carmelita cooperative's work protecting tropical biodiversity.
| Rowan University | EurekAlert! | March 19, 2024
Tiger-beetle research demonstrates an integrative method that combines DNA with morphology, ecology and other evidence to identify biological species.
| University of Copenhagen | Phys.org | November 13, 2023
Researchers revised the rove-beetle genus Loncovilius and described six new South American species using anatomy, phylogenetics and ecological modeling.
| University of Copenhagen | EurekAlert! | November 13, 2023
Researchers highlight how reproductive anatomy helps taxonomists distinguish closely related beetle species and document previously unknown biodiversity.
| University of California, Berkeley | Phys.org | March 27, 2023
Entomologist Kipling Will rediscovered a California ground beetle not documented by scientists since 1966 and described it as Bembidion brownorum.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | October 25, 2021
Researchers described 28 new Trigonopterus weevil species from Sulawesi, highlighting how much insect diversity remains undocumented in Indonesian forests.
| Matt Davenport | Michigan State University / Phys.org | June 16, 2021
Entomologists described dozens of previously unknown bark and ambrosia beetles, with some species receiving names inspired by science-fiction heroines.
| Michael D. Pointer, Matthew J. G. Gage and Lewis G. Spurgin | Heredity | March 25, 2021
This review explains why Tribolium flour beetles have become valuable experimental models for studying population dynamics, genetics, reproduction, dispersal, behavior, and evolutionary ecology.
| Matt Davenport | Michigan State University / Phys.org | October 20, 2020
Discovery of two Southeast Asian bark beetles illustrates the importance of documenting foreign beetle diversity before potentially damaging species arrive in new ecosystems.
| Ehime University | Phys.org | June 9, 2020
The discovery of Podonychus gyobu in Japan created a puzzling distribution pattern because the genus had previously been known only from Indonesia.
| Frid Kvalpskarmo Hansen | Norwegian University of Science and Technology / Phys.org | May 12, 2020
Seven years of fieldwork and anatomical comparisons led researchers to recognize the silverweed leaf beetle Galerucella anserina as a species new to science.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | January 31, 2019
Citizen scientists participating in a Borneo expedition discovered the tiny moss-eating leaf beetle Clavicornaltica belalongensis.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | July 30, 2018
A new Bornean round fungus beetle was named Ptomaphaginus isabellarossellini in recognition of Isabella Rossellini's work communicating animal biology.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | April 30, 2018
Citizen scientists discovered a new Bornean water beetle and named it Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi in recognition of Leonardo DiCaprio's conservation work.
| Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology | Phys.org | June 3, 2015
Scientists discovered the blind subterranean weevil Oromia thoracica in old volcanic soils on Gran Canaria.
| Alan Williams | University of Plymouth / Phys.org | May 6, 2015
The endangered South African diving beetle Capelatus prykei proved so evolutionarily distinctive that scientists placed it in a genus of its own.
| USDA Forest Service | Phys.org | April 14, 2015
Researchers formally described the Mesoamerican pine beetle, a tree-killing species associated with destructive outbreaks in Central American forests.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | January 6, 2015
A survey of seed beetles in Xinjiang documented 19 species and added several previously unrecorded species to the region's known fauna.
| Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology | Phys.org | July 1, 2014
Scientists discovered Duvalius abyssimus deep inside Krubera Cave, providing another example of extreme adaptation to subterranean environments.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | February 12, 2014
A beetle collected by Charles Darwin in Argentina in 1832 was recognized more than 180 years later as the new genus and species Darwinilus sedarisi.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | January 23, 2014
Examination of museum specimens revealed a previously unknown Amazonian rove-beetle genus exhibiting striking differences between males and females.
| Natural History Museum staff | Natural History Museum | n.d.
This illustrated guide introduces some of Britain's most distinctive beetles while explaining the defining anatomical features of Coleoptera.
| Lisa Hendry | Natural History Museum | n.d.
Britain's largest beetle depends heavily on decaying wood, making dead-wood habitat and suitable gardens important components of stag-beetle conservation.
Evolution, Diversity, and Fossil History
| Sandra Gunnarsson / Uppsala University | Phys.org | December 1, 2025
A remarkable experiment maintained seed-beetle populations for roughly 200 generations and found stronger sexual competition promoted evolutionary divergence between populations.
| John Lovett | Phys.org / University of Arkansas | October 10, 2024
Sequencing the red milkweed beetle genome offers clues to how plant-eating insects evolve mechanisms for tolerating and exploiting chemically defended host plants.
| Toho University | Phys.org | September 6, 2024
Scientists identified genetic mechanisms behind alternative head forms in snail-eating Carabus beetles, whose shapes determine whether they crush shells or insert their heads into them.
| Australian National University | EurekAlert! | August 19, 2024
Genomic research reconstructs roughly 150 million years of darkling-beetle evolution and helps explain how the family diversified into more than 30,000 species.
| Lori Dajose / Caltech | Phys.org | June 17, 2024
Research suggests beetles' extraordinary diversity partly reflects evolutionary innovations that allowed them to manufacture and manipulate defensive and ecological chemicals.
| Wits University | Phys.org | March 25, 2024
A roughly 90-million-year-old fossil from Botswana represents the first known staphylinine rove beetle fossil from Africa and the Southern Hemisphere.
| Beatriz Lucas / Max Planck Society | Phys.org | February 20, 2024
Researchers traced the partnership between tortoise beetles and their digestive bacterial symbionts deep into evolutionary history.
| Steve Lundeberg | Phys.org / Oregon State University | August 10, 2023
A beetle preserved in approximately 100-million-year-old amber possessed antennae several times its body length, possibly used in competition between males.
| Pau Balart-García et al. | Nature Communications | June 29, 2023
Comparative genomics shows that unrelated beetles adapting independently to underground environments evolved some remarkably similar molecular changes.
| Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County | EurekAlert! | April 17, 2023
Fossils in Cretaceous amber indicate beetle larvae fed on shed dinosaur feathers, documenting an ancient ecological relationship between insects and feathered vertebrates.
| Shuzhe Zhao et al. | Scientific Data | May 16, 2022
A Hong Kong biodiversity survey documented more than 16,000 beetles representing 478 species and 39 families using three passive collecting techniques.
| Matthew Carroll | Pennsylvania State University / Phys.org | April 25, 2022
Tunnels in a 60-million-year-old fossil palm fruit provide early evidence that seed beetles were already feeding on palms after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
| University of Bristol | Phys.org | March 22, 2022
A large evolutionary analysis suggests beetle diversity resulted from repeated independent radiations rather than one single explosive diversification event.
| Cell Press | Phys.org | June 30, 2021
Scientists discovered a new 230-million-year-old beetle species preserved three-dimensionally inside fossilized dung produced by a dinosaur relative.
| University of Bonn | Phys.org | March 18, 2020
Beetles preserved with pollen in Cretaceous amber provide evidence that some groups shifted toward feeding on and potentially pollinating flowering plants.
| Field Museum | Phys.org | September 9, 2019
Reanalysis of a fossil once considered the oldest rove beetle showed it belonged elsewhere, requiring scientists to reconsider the early history of the enormous Staphylinidae family.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | July 23, 2019
Discovery of the first known Asian bioluminescent click beetle revealed an evolutionarily distinctive lineage subsequently recognized as a new subfamily.
| Field Museum | Phys.org | June 7, 2018
A minute featherwing beetle trapped in 99-million-year-old amber shows that the extraordinarily small insects were already present during the age of dinosaurs.
| Shao-Qian Zhang et al. | Nature Communications | January 15, 2018
Analysis of 95 genes across hundreds of species reconstructed the beetle family tree and linked much of beetle diversification to ecological opportunities created by flowering plants.
| Friedrich Schiller University Jena | Phys.org | July 24, 2017
Reconstruction of a roughly 300-million-year-old Australian beetle fossil provided new evidence about the early evolution of Coleoptera.
| Chinese Academy of Sciences | Phys.org | March 16, 2017
Cretaceous amber containing mushrooms and fungus-feeding rove beetles reveals that beetle-fungus ecological relationships have ancient origins.
| Entomological Society of America | Phys.org | August 22, 2016
Beetles preserved in amber with orchid pollen attached to their bodies provide evidence of beetle-mediated orchid pollination millions of years ago.
| Cleveland Museum of Natural History | Phys.org | May 4, 2016
Molecular evidence places the evolutionary origin and early diversification of dung beetles in the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs still dominated terrestrial ecosystems.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | March 25, 2016
Intensive collecting added more than 300 beetle records to New Brunswick's fauna and included dozens of species previously unknown to science.
| Raymond Sanchez | University of Arizona / Phys.org | November 3, 2014
Ant-nest beetles repeatedly evolved elaborate adaptations allowing them to infiltrate ant societies, exploit colony resources, and prey on their hosts.
| American Museum of Natural History | Phys.org | October 2, 2014
A 52-million-year-old beetle preserved in Indian amber is the oldest known evidence of beetles specialized for infiltrating and exploiting ant colonies.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | March 27, 2013
Scientists used rapid DNA-based methods to describe 101 new Trigonopterus weevils from New Guinea, demonstrating the extraordinary scale of tropical beetle diversity.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | February 20, 2013
A systematic revision increased the known diversity of the tropical hister beetle genus Operclipygus by describing 138 species new to science.
| Krishna Ramanujan | Cornell University / Phys.org | November 21, 2012
Entomological surveys in the Society Islands revealed 14 previously unknown species of the extraordinarily diverse ground-beetle genus Mecyclothorax.
| Bev Betkowski | University of Alberta / Phys.org | October 25, 2012
Research on insects inhabiting decaying aspen wood in Alberta resulted in the discovery of seven beetle species new to science.
| Emily Osterloff | Natural History Museum | n.d.
An overview of giant beetles examines Hercules and titan beetles and explains how different definitions of body length determine which species deserves the title of world's largest beetle.
Climate Change, Conservation, and Ecosystem Change
| Le Monde staff | Le Monde | August 2, 2026
France has expanded surveillance and trapping as the invasive Japanese beetle spreads beyond established European populations in Italy and Switzerland.
| Chinese Academy of Sciences / Xinhua | Chinese Academy of Sciences | April 2, 2026
Scientists described a new beetle genus and dozens of species from China, with particularly high diversity documented in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region.
| University of Würzburg | EurekAlert! | March 25, 2026
Surveys along an elevation gradient in Peru found temperature to be a major determinant of dung-beetle diversity and abundance, raising concerns about future warming.
| S. M. Rayeed et al. | arXiv | January 14, 2026
Researchers digitized more than 13,000 ground-beetle specimens from across the United States to support automated identification, trait measurement and biodiversity monitoring.
| Michael Howe et al. | USDA Forest Service / Journal of Biogeography | 2026
Analysis of beetle outbreaks dating to 1962 predicts that warming winters will permit spruce-beetle outbreaks to extend farther into northern North American spruce forests.
| David Wembridge et al. | Insect Conservation and Diversity | 2026
Tens of thousands of citizen-science records indicate that Britain's stag-beetle distribution has remained broadly stable over recent decades, although declines occurred in parts of its western range.
| Associated Press | AP News | 2026
Invasive Japanese beetles are spreading through northern Italian vineyards and orchards, where their feeding threatens grapes and numerous other agricultural plants.
| University of Hong Kong | EurekAlert! | September 1, 2025
Long-term tropical research found intensifying El Niño events associated with declines in arthropods, including beetles, potentially disrupting important ecosystem functions.
| Stellenbosch University | EurekAlert! | July 31, 2025
Research on the predatory lady beetle Cheilomenes lunata suggests small-scale variations in temperature and habitat can provide important refuges from climatic extremes.
| Changseob Lim et al. | Scientific Reports | July 8, 2024
Modeling predicts climate change will shift suitable habitat and reduce genetic diversity in dung-beetle populations across the Gobi Desert and Mongolian Steppe.
| Researchers | Scientific Reports | September 2, 2023
An invasive predatory ground beetle is producing density-dependent effects on native invertebrates across environmentally sensitive subantarctic islands.
| Francisco Tutella / Penn State | Phys.org | March 23, 2023
Modeling of nearly 2,000 North American ground-beetle species suggests climate responses will depend strongly on species traits and habitat conditions.
| Václav Zumr, Jiří Remeš and Oto Nakládal | Scientific Reports | July 13, 2022
Natural small-scale disturbances in temperate beech forests create habitat variation that helps maintain high beetle species richness.
| Wageningen University | Phys.org | May 16, 2022
Monitoring a decomposing minke whale on a Dutch island revealed 57 beetle species and demonstrated the biodiversity value of naturally decomposing large carcasses.
| Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg | Phys.org | February 21, 2022
Long-term canopy research documents changes in forest beetle communities associated with drought, tree mortality, and other climate-linked disturbances.
| Laura Oleniacz | North Carolina State University / Phys.org | November 2, 2021
Modeling indicates that warmer temperatures accelerated western pine beetle development during California's historic drought and contributed substantially to ponderosa pine mortality.
| Rodger Gwiazdowski | University of Massachusetts Amherst / Phys.org | July 7, 2020
Conservationists released federally threatened northeastern beach tiger beetle larvae in New Jersey in an effort to establish an additional self-sustaining population.
| Nancy Ambrosiano | Los Alamos National Laboratory / Phys.org | June 20, 2018
Warmer minimum winter temperatures allow mountain pine beetles to expand into previously unsuitable areas, although population crowding can limit growth.
| AFP / IUCN | Phys.org | March 5, 2018
An assessment concluded that nearly one-fifth of surveyed European beetles dependent on old and decaying wood face extinction risk.
| Columbia University | Phys.org | August 28, 2017
Climate projections suggest warmer winters could permit southern pine beetles to expand throughout much of the northeastern United States and southern Canada.
| McGill University | Phys.org | April 22, 2015
Arctic ground-beetle communities may serve as sensitive indicators because climatic changes affecting vegetation and soil conditions rapidly alter their distributions.
| Springer | Phys.org | May 2, 2012
Sixteen years of European data show that warmer and drier conditions are associated with greater spruce-bark-beetle damage in Alpine forests.
| University of Colorado Boulder | Phys.org | March 28, 2012
Warmer high-elevation conditions enabled some mountain pine beetle populations to complete two generations within one year, greatly increasing reproductive potential.
| University of Colorado Boulder | Phys.org | March 15, 2012
Field observations provided evidence that warming conditions can accelerate mountain pine beetle development enough to produce additional generations.
Dung Beetles and Ecosystem Functions
| University of Florida | EurekAlert! | May 28, 2026
Experimental elephant exclusion in Kenya produced substantial reductions in dung-beetle populations and the ecosystem services they perform.
| Finote Gijsman et al. | Science | 2026
Food-web models combined with a long-running field experiment demonstrate the unusually important role elephant dung plays in supporting East African dung-beetle communities.
| Andrew Porterfield | Entomology Today | September 18, 2025
Some veterinary parasite treatments persist in livestock dung and can harm beneficial beetles that recycle manure and suppress pasture pests.
| University of South Australia | EurekAlert! | August 21, 2024
Engineers modeled navigation technology on dung beetles' ability to orient themselves using patterns of light from the Milky Way.
| University of Western Australia | Phys.org | March 20, 2024
A meta-analysis covering 24 studies in 14 countries found dung-beetle activity associated with an average increase in plant growth.
| António Alves da Silva et al. | Biodiversity and Conservation | 2024
Research in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park suggests closed-canopy refuges can buffer drought-sensitive ground beetles against extreme dry conditions.
| Jorge A. Noriega et al. | Nature Communications | December 6, 2023
Experiments across grazing systems found that communities containing a greater diversity of dung-beetle functional types remove livestock dung more efficiently.
| Carlos C. V. García et al. | Scientific Reports | March 2, 2023
Researchers compared dung-beetle species to determine how their activities influence nitrogen emissions, ammonia losses, and nutrient recycling in pastures.
| G. Asha et al. | Scientific Reports | December 23, 2022
Surveys across an urbanization gradient found surprisingly strong dung-beetle use of managed home gardens compared with nearby natural sacred-grove habitats.
| Meat & Livestock Australia | Phys.org | May 3, 2022
Australia imported Gymnopleurus sturmi as part of a program using dung beetles to improve manure breakdown, soil health, and livestock-pasture conditions.
| Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry | Phys.org | September 24, 2019
Research highlights how veterinary chemicals and other pollutants can harm dung beetles and reduce the valuable ecosystem services they provide.
| Researchers | Biological Conservation | 2019
A comparison spanning roughly four decades found major declines in beetle abundance and diversity in an intact temperate forest, with warming winters implicated as an important driver.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | April 25, 2016
Phylogenetic research clarified relationships within two major dung-beetle groups that together account for a large share of global dung-beetle diversity and biomass.
Fireflies and Bioluminescent Beetles
| André Julião | Phys.org / FAPESP | January 2, 2024
Long-running surveys found famous luminous click-beetle displays increasingly restricted to protected habitat surrounded by agricultural development.
| Researchers | Insects | 2024
A broad review examines firefly taxonomy, evolution, ecology, extinction risks and emerging conservation programs around the world.
| Researchers | Science of the Total Environment | 2024
Machine-learning analysis of community-science observations found firefly abundance associated with soil, land cover, climate and weather conditions.
| Entomology Today staff | Entomology Today | October 25, 2023
Three decades of monitoring in Brazil's Cerrado documented substantial changes in bioluminescent beetle populations associated with habitat alteration and artificial lighting.
| University of Illinois | EurekAlert! | January 23, 2023
Engineers reproduced the rapid elastic jumping mechanism used by click beetles to create tiny robots capable of leaping over obstacles.
| Sara M. Lewis et al. | PLOS ONE | 2021
Assessments of 132 North American firefly species concluded that at least 18 were threatened with extinction and that many others lacked enough information for reliable assessment.
| Sara M. Lewis et al. | PLOS ONE / PMC | 2021
Habitat loss, artificial light, climate change and other pressures emerge as major threats facing North America's diverse bioluminescent beetles.
Forest Beetles, Bark Beetles, and Tree Mortality
| University of Eastern Finland | Phys.org | February 26, 2025
High-resolution measurements revealed that bark-beetle-infested spruce trees begin losing water and growing more slowly before obvious external signs appear.
| Los Alamos National Laboratory | EurekAlert! | April 5, 2023
Modeling suggests forests heavily affected by western pine beetles during California's megadrought may retain lower ponderosa-pine densities and carbon storage for decades.
| Tina Hilding / Washington State University | Phys.org | March 24, 2023
Modeling research indicates beetle outbreaks do not automatically translate into larger fires and that effects vary according to the time elapsed since tree death.
| Kamal J. K. Gandhi et al. | Bark Beetle Management, Ecology, and Climate Change | 2022
Beetle outbreaks restructure forests by changing vegetation, habitat and other biological components, with climate change potentially altering the severity and persistence of these disturbances.
| Christopher J. Fettig and Jackson P. Audley | Current Biology / USDA Forest Service | 2021
More than 6,000 bark-beetle species are known worldwide, with a smaller number acting as major disturbance agents capable of killing extensive areas of conifer forest.
| Todd McLeish | University of Rhode Island / Phys.org | September 17, 2020
Scientists released specialized Asian parasitoid wasps to suppress emerald ash borer populations and improve the prospects for future generations of ash trees.
| Dan W. McCollum and John Lundquist | Journal of Forestry | 2019
Bark-beetle outbreaks affect timber, water, wildlife habitat, recreation and other ecosystem services, creating both ecological and socioeconomic consequences.
| Barbara J. Bentz | Mountain Views | 2019
The relationship between mountain pine beetles and exceptionally long-lived bristlecone pines illustrates how host characteristics influence beetle susceptibility.
| Jose Negron and Bob Cain | Journal of Forestry | 2018
Researchers summarize extensive mountain pine beetle mortality in Colorado and its effects on forest structure, hydrology, wildlife habitat and recreation.
| Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research | Phys.org | January 6, 2017
European eradication programs demonstrate that intensive surveillance, tree removal, and public participation can eliminate Asian longhorned beetle infestations.
| University of British Columbia | Phys.org | November 30, 2016
Mathematical modeling suggests pheromone baiting may sometimes worsen mountain pine beetle problems when beetle populations are initially low.
| Jesse L. Morris et al. | Journal of Applied Ecology | 2016
Researchers identify major unanswered questions surrounding increasingly extensive bark-beetle disturbances in North America and Europe.
| Kevin Hyde et al. | Biological and Environmental Hazards, Risks, and Disasters | 2016
This review examines effects of beetle-driven tree mortality on carbon cycling, water, wildfire risk, forest regeneration and economic values.
A review examines preventive forestry, direct control and other management strategies for reducing undesirable bark-beetle mortality.
| Michael G. Ryan et al. | New Phytologist / USDA Forest Service | 2015
Drought stress can alter tree defenses and affect the probability that attacking bark beetles will successfully colonize and kill their hosts.
| University of Alberta | Phys.org | August 27, 2014
Canadian researchers examine the ecological and economic consequences of the enormous mountain pine beetle outbreak spreading eastward from British Columbia.
| Jose Negron and Christopher J. Fettig | Forest Science / USDA Forest Service | 2014
This synthesis reviews mountain pine beetle ecology and its role as one of the dominant natural disturbance agents in western North American conifer forests.
| Bev Betkowski | University of Alberta / Phys.org | November 14, 2013
Scientists tested pheromone-based lures as a possible method for attracting and controlling mountain pine beetles before infestations spread.
| American Chemical Society | Phys.org | May 23, 2012
Pine trees attacked by bark beetles can emit greatly elevated quantities of volatile organic compounds that contribute to atmospheric haze.
| Iqbal Pittalwala | University of California, Riverside / Phys.org | May 8, 2012
Researchers identified an invasive shot-hole borer and associated Fusarium fungus threatening avocado and landscape trees in Southern California.
| Entomological Society of America | Phys.org | February 13, 2012
A review explains how southern pine beetle management strategies should change depending on whether populations are sparse, increasing, or in epidemic outbreak phases.
| Christopher J. Fettig | USDA Forest Service | 2012
Bark-beetle mortality in the Sierra Nevada is examined in the broader context of forest density, management choices, drought and climate uncertainty.
| Ken Gibson, Sandy Kegley and Barbara J. Bentz | USDA Forest Service | 2009 revision
The Forest Service explains mountain pine beetle identification, life history, host trees, outbreak development and forest-management considerations.
| John E. Lundquist and Barbara J. Bentz | USDA Forest Service | 2009
This report examines why warming temperatures and changing climatic conditions can modify beetle survival, reproduction and outbreak behavior.
| Robert Progar, Adris Eglitis and John E. Lundquist | USDA Forest Service | 2009
Bark beetles are natural forest disturbance agents that can create ecological benefits while simultaneously producing substantial economic and social costs.
| Barbara J. Bentz | Encyclopedia of Entomology / USDA Forest Service | 2008
Mountain pine beetles reproduce in numerous pine species and can shift from low populations to enormous outbreaks capable of killing mature forests.
| Merrill R. Kaufmann et al. | USDA Forest Service / The Nature Conservancy | 2008
Scientists review what is known—and uncertain—about mountain-pine-beetle outbreaks, lodgepole pine ecology and subsequent wildfire behavior.
| J. M. Schmid and S. A. Mata | USDA Forest Service | 2005
Seventeen years of monitoring showed that lower-density ponderosa pine stands suffered substantially less mountain-pine-beetle mortality than untreated stands.
Invasive and Agricultural Pest Beetles
| USDA APHIS | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service | April 23, 2026
The emerald ash borer has spread through much of the United States, killing tens of millions of ash trees as larvae feed beneath the bark.
| USDA Forest Service | Northern Research Station | 2026
Long-term experiments in Minnesota and Michigan examine how the loss of black ash affects water levels, forest regeneration, carbon and wildlife habitat.
| Andrew Porterfield | Entomology Today | November 17, 2025
Researchers investigated whether small hive beetles can convert excess bee-colony pollen into insect biomass, animal feed and nutrient-rich frass.
| Carolyn Bernhardt | Entomology Today | July 2, 2025
Scientists review fungi, bacteria, nematodes and other biological-control agents that could supplement eradication programs against Asian longhorned beetles.
| Andrew Porterfield | Entomology Today | February 14, 2025
Researchers developed a laboratory rearing system for Carpophilus truncatus, an invasive beetle recently detected damaging California almond and pistachio crops.
| Jeff Mulhollem / Penn State | Phys.org | January 8, 2025
Genetic variation surviving among ash populations may provide useful material for eventually restoring forests devastated by emerald ash borer.
| Grant Bolton | Entomology Today | December 10, 2024
Warmer climatic conditions may expand the range and economic importance of the corn flea beetle and the bacterial Stewart's wilt disease it transmits.
| Andrew Porterfield | Entomology Today | July 30, 2024
Examination of thousands of infested logs identified branch diameters and egg-laying pits that can help surveyors find Asian longhorned beetle infestations earlier.
| Carolyn Bernhardt | Entomology Today | June 18, 2024
DNA assays can reveal where predatory Laricobius beetles have become established after releases intended to control invasive hemlock woolly adelgids.
| Ed Ricciuti | Entomology Today | June 3, 2024
Environmental DNA recovered from yard waste detected traces of lined click beetles and other invasive crop pests that could otherwise escape traditional inspections.
| Ed Ricciuti | Entomology Today | April 30, 2024
Experiments suggest southern pine beetles can detect chemical cues associated with black turpentine beetles and use them to identify vulnerable host trees.
| Andrew Porterfield | Entomology Today | March 12, 2024
An attract-and-kill strategy concentrates Japanese beetles near vineyard margins, potentially allowing farmers to reduce whole-field insecticide applications.
| Ariela Haber | Entomology Today | October 13, 2023
The spotted cucumber beetle feeds on hundreds of plant species and damages crops ranging from corn and beans to squash, melon and sweet potato.
| Ben C. Sammarco and Michael S. Crossley | Entomology Today | April 13, 2023
Lesser mealworm beetles can reach enormous densities in poultry houses, creating sanitation, structural and animal-health problems.
| Y. Wu et al. | Scientific Reports | February 27, 2023
Researchers developed molecular diagnostic tools capable of accurately identifying khapra beetles, one of the world's most serious pests of stored agricultural products.
| Patrick Tobin et al. | Journal of Economic Entomology | 2021
Researchers compared trapping systems and beetle flight timing to improve early detection of emerald ash borer infestations.
| University of Arizona | Phys.org | July 20, 2020
Research into western corn rootworm explores how diversified crop rotations and other ecological approaches might combat a pest historically costing farmers enormous sums.
| Brian M. Hoven et al. | Annals of Forest Science | 2020
The death of ash trees creates canopy openings that change light, competition and regeneration patterns throughout invaded forests.
| USDA Agricultural Research Service | Phys.org | December 20, 2018
Sequencing the small hive beetle genome gives researchers new genetic tools for developing more targeted ways to protect honey bee colonies from this invasive parasite.
| Stacey Plaisance | Phys.org | November 14, 2017
Scientists considered introducing a host-specific Asian flea beetle to suppress invasive Chinese tallow trees spreading through forests of the southeastern United States.
| Samuel J. Fahrner et al. | Urban Forestry & Urban Greening | 2017
Modeling of an early Minnesota infestation found targeted removal of infested ash trees could substantially reduce local beetle production.
| Susan Montoya Bryan | Phys.org | September 7, 2016
Successful biological control of invasive tamarisk by leaf beetles created a conservation dilemma because the altered vegetation also provides habitat for an endangered bird.
| Therese M. Poland et al. | USDA Forest Service | 2016
Researchers review improvements to trap designs, chemical lures and survey techniques used to detect emerging emerald ash borer populations.
| University of Connecticut | Phys.org | June 19, 2015
Researchers investigated the parasitic wasp Tiphia vernalis as a biological-control agent against Japanese beetle grubs in lawns and other managed habitats.
| Randall Morin et al. | USDA Forest Service | 2015
Forest inventory data show ash mortality rises dramatically several years after emerald ash borer reaches a county.
| Matt Shipman | North Carolina State University / Phys.org | October 1, 2014
Scientists developed experimental systems for investigating new approaches to controlling western corn rootworm, one of North America's most costly agricultural pests.
| Therese M. Poland | USDA Forest Service | 2014
Researchers summarize progress made since emerald ash borer was first recognized in North America, including advances in detection, biology and management.
Behavior, Symbiosis, and Chemical Ecology
| University of Bayreuth | Phys.org | August 6, 2025
Experiments with burying beetles found larvae can benefit from the presence of siblings even when parents are absent, challenging a simple model of sibling competition.
| Daniele Giannetti et al. | Scientific Reports | October 21, 2024
European stag beetle males appear to use alternative reproductive tactics, with large males emphasizing combat and smaller males relying more heavily on flight.
| Peter Sarkies et al. | Nature Communications | August 4, 2024
Experimental removal of parental care in burying beetles produced evolutionary changes in patterns of DNA methylation across generations.
| EPFL | EurekAlert! | July 31, 2024
High-speed imaging shows beetle hindwings can deploy and retract largely through passive mechanical processes, inspiring compact flying robots.
| Florida Museum of Natural History | EurekAlert! | May 14, 2024
Nocturnal tiger beetles produce ultrasonic signals when bats approach, apparently mimicking the warning sounds of chemically defended insects.
| Cornell University | EurekAlert! | January 8, 2024
Whirligig beetles reach extraordinary swimming speeds by generating lift-based thrust, a mechanism that may inspire agile robotic boats.
| Kobe University | EurekAlert! | June 6, 2023
Researchers studied mimicry between chemically defended bombardier beetles and similarly patterned assassin bugs exposed to shared predators.
| Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology | EurekAlert! | April 24, 2023
Two bacterial symbionts provide wood-feeding beetles with nutrients needed to build and strengthen their protective cuticle.
| Max Planck Society | Phys.org | April 24, 2023
Beetle-associated bacteria recycle nutrients and manufacture compounds needed for the formation of strong exoskeletons.
| Nagoya University | EurekAlert! | March 29, 2023
Japanese longhorn beetles maintain yeast in specialized organs and pass the microbes to their offspring, helping larvae exploit nutritionally difficult wood.
| University of Copenhagen | EurekAlert! | March 21, 2023
Specialized organs in beetles allow them to reclaim remarkable quantities of water, helping explain their success in extremely dry habitats.
| University of Copenhagen | Phys.org | March 21, 2023
Study of the red flour beetle reveals molecular mechanisms for extracting water from extraordinarily dry surroundings.
| Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz | Phys.org | September 27, 2022
Defensive bacteria carried by Lagria beetles protect vulnerable larvae against fungal pathogens during development and molting.
| Frontiers | Phys.org | August 30, 2022
Female Lagria beetles preserve beneficial bacteria through metamorphosis by temporarily storing the microbes in specialized pockets on their backs.
| Thais Szegö | FAPESP / Phys.org | May 27, 2022
A newly described jewel beetle makes holes in Brazilian plants that release resin subsequently collected by honey bees to manufacture valuable red propolis.
| Cell Press | Phys.org | December 9, 2021
Study of rove-beetle chemical glands reveals how two specialized cell types work together and offers a model for understanding the evolution of complex organs.
| Kara Manke | University of California, Berkeley / Phys.org | May 26, 2021
Bess beetles maintain pathogen-fighting microorganisms in their frass, which they use both as food and as construction material around developing offspring.
| Marion Renault | Phys.org | January 17, 2021
Burying beetles chemically alter carcasses used to feed their offspring, apparently helping conceal the valuable resource from competing beetles.
| Bob Yirka | Phys.org | September 11, 2018
Parasitic blister beetle larvae have evolved different chemical signals in different regions so they can successfully deceive their local bee hosts.
| University of Edinburgh | Phys.org | August 1, 2018
Burying-beetle offspring cared for by both parents reached healthier weights and had higher survival than offspring receiving care from only one parent.
| Marlowe Hood | Phys.org | May 24, 2017
Experiments with seed beetles demonstrate how harmful male reproductive structures can drive counter-adaptations in females through sexual conflict.
| Cell Press | Phys.org | March 9, 2017
Multiple rove-beetle lineages independently evolved antlike bodies, chemistry, and behavior that allow them to infiltrate army-ant colonies.
| BioMed Central | Phys.org | February 9, 2017
The newly described beetle Nymphister kronaueri travels with army ants by attaching itself securely to the narrow waist of worker ants.
| Alan Williams | University of Plymouth / Phys.org | June 29, 2016
Geographic expansion of a diving beetle form appears connected to an evolutionary arms race between male grasping structures and female resistance traits.
| University of Exeter | Phys.org | May 20, 2016
Experimental evolution in burying beetles showed that sexual conflict can produce measurable changes in male and female reproductive anatomy within only a few generations.
| Bob Yirka | Phys.org | March 23, 2016
Female burying beetles release a chemical signal during parental care that reduces sexual advances by males while larvae require intensive feeding.
| Carol Boll | Syracuse University / Phys.org | February 3, 2016
Experiments on red flour beetles investigate why females mate repeatedly and how multiple mating affects reproduction and sexual selection.
| University of Cambridge | Phys.org | September 22, 2015
Burying-beetle experiments show that intensive paternal care can impose survival costs and that childhood care influences the quality of future parents.
| Bob Yirka | Phys.org | January 28, 2015
Research on burying beetles suggests same-sex mating attempts can arise because males become less selective when potential female mates are scarce.
| University of Exeter | Phys.org | April 29, 2014
Experiments show that body size and developmental experience jointly influence burying beetles' chances of winning contests over carcasses.
| RIKEN | Phys.org | March 2, 2012
Chemists investigated the unusual xylomannan antifreeze molecule that helps the Alaskan beetle Upis ceramboides tolerate extremely low temperatures.
| Bob Yirka | Phys.org | February 28, 2012
Genetic evidence indicates that the coffee berry borer acquired a bacterial gene that helps it digest carbohydrates inside coffee beans.
Biomechanics and Bioinspiration
| Nature Research Briefing | Nature | August 28, 2024
Researchers translated the passive wing-folding mechanics of beetles into flapping microrobots capable of opening and closing their own wings.
| Hoang-Vu Phan, Hoon Cheol Park and Dario Floreano | Nature | July 31, 2024
High-speed observations show that rhinoceros beetles deploy and retract their hindwings using unexpectedly passive mechanical processes that can be copied in small robots.
| Sergey E. Farisenkov et al. | Nature | January 19, 2022
Featherwing beetles combine exceptionally light bristled wings with an unusual figure-eight flight stroke to retain impressive performance despite their microscopic size.
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | Phys.org | January 18, 2021
Click beetles store elastic energy in their bodies and release it suddenly through a latch mechanism to launch themselves many body lengths into the air.
| Thania Benios | Stevens Institute of Technology / Phys.org | June 16, 2020
Chemical analysis provides new insight into the reactions that allow bombardier beetles to produce rapid bursts of hot defensive spray without injuring themselves.
| Pensoft Publishers | Phys.org | February 25, 2020
Imaging and high-speed video revealed the catapult-like mechanism flea beetles use to perform extremely rapid jumps.
| University of Sheffield | Phys.org | August 29, 2019
Researchers mimicked the nanostructure of ultra-white Cyphochilus beetle scales to explore ways of producing bright white materials from recycled plastics.
| University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Phys.org | February 22, 2017
Nanoscale analysis of beetle exoskeletons reveals a lightweight fiber architecture that could inspire strong artificial composite materials.
| Amanda Morris | Northwestern University / Phys.org | January 11, 2017
Engineers examined how beetle exoskeletons combine low weight with mechanical strength as a model for future biomimetic materials.
| The Company of Biologists | Phys.org | March 2, 2016
High-speed filming revealed how waterlily beetles skim across water surfaces at remarkable speeds while remaining attached through their legs.
| Virginia Tech | Phys.org | January 22, 2016
Researchers inspired by water-collecting desert beetles developed patterned surfaces capable of controlling condensation and frost formation.
| University of Bath | Phys.org | September 16, 2015
Microscopic examination of elaborate male Rhipicera antennae shows how thousands of sensory structures help the beetles detect airborne chemical signals from potential mates.
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Phys.org | April 30, 2015
X-ray imaging clarified how bombardier beetles pulse boiling defensive chemicals while preventing damaging pressure from building inside their bodies.
| University of California, Berkeley | Phys.org | March 16, 2015
Researchers fitted giant flower beetles with miniature electronics, revealing unexpected details about the muscles they use to steer during flight.
| Joe Miksch | University of Pittsburgh / Phys.org | November 6, 2014
Tiger beetles run so quickly relative to their size that vision becomes temporarily impaired, forcing them to alternate rapid pursuit with visual corrections.
Beetles, People, and Biodiversity Conservation
| Tanya Latty | Phys.org / The Conversation | March 14, 2025
Beetles are among the many insects beyond bees that transport pollen, and some flowering plants retain traits associated with ancient beetle pollination.
| Researchers | EurekAlert! | November 18, 2024
Historical records show members of the public have often made the first observations of Asian longhorned beetles and other invasive insects in newly colonized areas.
| Alex Morrison / University of Exeter | Phys.org | June 20, 2024
Tracking of Britain's rare blue ground beetle showed individuals moving substantial distances through temperate rainforest habitat in search of food and mates.
| Orlando A. Calcetas et al. | Insecta Mundi / Smithsonian Repository | 2023
Researchers document the biology of Podontia quatuordecimpunctata, a leaf beetle feeding on Spondias purpurea in the Philippines.
| Dan Bernardi | Syracuse University / Phys.org | April 8, 2021
Researchers tested whether realistic 3D-printed beetles could substitute for living insects in experiments investigating visual and chemical signals involved in mate choice.
| Marcos Méndez and Arno Thomaes | Insect Conservation and Diversity | December 16, 2020
A comprehensive review examines stag-beetle habitat, population monitoring, taxonomy and conservation while identifying important gaps in scientific knowledge.
| Pohang University of Science and Technology | Phys.org | July 20, 2020
Scientists found that gut microorganisms in Plesiophthalmus davidis darkling-beetle larvae can contribute to the breakdown of polystyrene plastic.
| Tokyo Metropolitan University | Phys.org | January 13, 2020
Experiments show that a particular insulin-like peptide helps regulate the growth of enlarged male mandibles used as weapons in horned flour beetles.
| Annette Aiello | The Coleopterists Bulletin / Smithsonian | 2019
Observations of the jewel beetle Amorphosoma penicillatum describe unusual defensive behavior and apparent lack of fear when disturbed.
| AFP | Phys.org | February 7, 2018
Bombardier beetles swallowed by toads can discharge their chemical defenses inside the predator, forcing the toad to vomit them out alive.
| Yale-NUS College | Phys.org | December 4, 2017
Field research suggests the bright colors of some Australian leaf beetles function as camouflage against their host plants rather than simply warning predators.
| Natural History Museum | Natural History Museum | n.d.
The Museum's Coleoptera collection contains millions of beetle specimens and approximately 100,000 type specimens, preserving centuries of taxonomic and biodiversity information.
| Smithsonian Institution | Q?rius | n.d.
Smithsonian educational material explains why beetles are so diverse and how their protective elytra, varied diets and long evolutionary history contributed to their success.
| Smithsonian Institution | Q?rius | n.d.
A Smithsonian scarab specimen provides an entry point for explaining beetle anatomy, early pollination and the evolutionary diversification of Coleoptera.
