Beetles
Order Coleoptera
1299 speciesThe largest order of insects, comprising about 25% of all known animal species. Beetles are found in nearly every habitat and are distinguished by their hardened forewings called elytra.
Species in this Order
Actaeon Beetle
Megasoma actaeon
Contender for the worlds heaviest beetle — a male larva bred in Japan weighed 228 grams, about the w...
African Blister Beetle
Mylabris oculata
A conspicuous beetle with orange-red and black banded elytra. It contains cantharidin, a potent toxi...
African Bombardier Beetle
Stenaptinus insignis
A large, brightly colored bombardier beetle found across sub-Saharan Africa. Its yellow and dark-blu...
African Cassava Leaf Beetle
Mesoplatys ochroptera
A small, yellowish-brown beetle that is a significant pest of cassava in sub-Saharan Africa. Both ad...
African Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle
Oryctes monoceros
A robust, dark chestnut-brown beetle with a single curved horn on the male's head. It is a significa...
African Diving Beetle
Cybister tripunctatus
A large diving beetle widespread across Africa and southern Asia. It is one of the most common large...
African Dung Beetle
Scarabaeus rugosus
A medium-sized, roughly textured black roller beetle found in southern African sandy habitats. It ha...
African Ebony Longhorn
Phantasis gigantea
An impressively large African lamiin with an elongated body and extremely long, spindly legs. It is ...
African Fig-tree Longhorn
Phryneta spinator
A large, spiny longhorn beetle with gray-brown mottled coloring and prominent lateral thoracic spine...
African Firefly
Luciola africana
A Sub-Saharan African firefly with a dark brown body and pale pronotal margins. It is one of the few...
African Fruit Beetle
Pachnoda sinuata
A common yellow and brown flower beetle frequently seen on ripe fruit. It is a familiar garden visit...
African Giant Tiger Beetle
Manticora herculeana
The largest tiger beetle in the world, entirely black with enormous sickle-shaped mandibles. It is f...
African Goliath Beetle
Goliathus cacicus
A large cetoniine beetle with cream and dark brown patterning across its wing cases. It is found in ...
African Hide Beetle
Trox sabulosus
A small, rough-textured beetle covered in soil particles and debris that provide excellent camouflag...
African Jewel Beetle
Sternocera orissa
A large metallic green and gold jewel beetle with textured elytra. Adults are found on acacia and ot...
African Ladybird Beetle
Cheilomenes propinqua
A small, dome-shaped beetle with variable black and orange-red patterns. It is a voracious predator ...
African Leaf Beetle
Polyclada bohemani
A medium-sized, brightly metallic leaf beetle with iridescent green, blue, and copper hues. It feeds...
African Melon Leaf Beetle
Aulacophora africana
A bright orange to yellowish-red beetle with a smooth, shiny surface that is a significant pest of c...
African Myrmecophile Rove Beetle
Dorylomimus kohli
A rove beetle that lives with army ant colonies in tropical Africa, mimicking the ants in body shape...
African Net-winged Beetle
Lycus trabeatus
A brightly orange-red beetle with distinctive net-like wing venation and broad expanded elytra. It i...
African Predator Rove Beetle
Philonthus longicornis
A medium-sized, cosmopolitan rove beetle with notably long antennae relative to its body size. It is...
African Rhinoceros Beetle
Oryctes boas
A large dark brown dynastine beetle with a prominent recurved horn on the male's head. Larvae develo...
African Soldier Beetle
Cantharis africana
A soft-bodied soldier beetle from Sub-Saharan Africa with orange-brown elytra and a darker head regi...
African Stag Beetle
Prosopocoilus savagei
A dark reddish-brown stag beetle with impressive mandibles in males. It inhabits forests where larva...
African Striped Flower Beetle
Stephanorrhina guttata
A medium-sized flower beetle with dark green elytra covered in cream-colored spots and stripes. It i...
African Tiger Beetle
Manticora latipennis
The world's largest tiger beetle, a fierce predator with massive jaws. It is flightless and hunts on...
African Twig Girdler
Analeptes trifasciata
A distinctive African lamiin known for its habit of girdling living tree branches. The female chews ...
African Whirligig Beetle
Dineutus aereus
A bronze-colored whirligig beetle common across sub-Saharan African freshwater habitats. It swims ra...
Agabus Arctic Diving Beetle
Agabus arcticus
A cold-adapted diving beetle found in northern and alpine regions across the Holarctic. It thrives i...
Agave Snout Weevil
Scyphophorus acupunctatus
A large, black weevil that attacks agave and yucca plants by boring into the base. It can destroy en...
Agonum Marsh Ground Beetle
Agonum marginatum
A medium-sized metallic green ground beetle with pale-margined elytra found exclusively in wetland h...
Alder Leaf Beetle
Agelastica alni
A metallic dark violet-blue beetle that feeds on alder trees. Heavy infestations can completely defo...
Aleochara Parasitoid Rove Beetle
Aleochara bilineata
A small, dark rove beetle whose larvae are parasitoids of cabbage root fly pupae. Adults are also ac...
Alpine Carabus
Carabus alpestris
A metallic green or bronze ground beetle of high alpine meadows. It is a nocturnal predator of slugs...
Alpine Click Beetle
Hypnoidus rivularius
A small, dark click beetle found in damp alpine and subalpine habitats. Its larvae develop in moist ...
Alpine Dung Beetle
Geotrupes alpinus
A sturdy, dark dung beetle of high-altitude pastures grazed by livestock. It buries dung underground...
Alpine Ground Beetle
Nebria germari
A dark, robust ground beetle found on alpine scree slopes and glacier margins. It hunts small invert...
Alpine Longhorn Beetle
Rosalia alpina
A strikingly beautiful blue-grey beetle with black spots, listed on multiple European conservation d...
Alpine Rove Beetle
Ocypus alpestris
A large, black rove beetle of high-altitude meadows and forest edges. It is a fast-running predator ...
Alpine Tiger Beetle
Cicindela gallica
A fast-running predatory beetle of dry alpine grasslands and rocky paths. Its greenish-bronze colora...
Alpine Weevil
Otiorhynchus morio
A large, black flightless weevil of alpine and subalpine zones. It feeds on roots and leaves of low-...
Amazon Flat Ground Beetle
Agra eowilsoni
An extremely elongated, ant-like ground beetle from Central American rainforests. Its narrow body an...
Amazonian Bark Beetle
Xyleborus ferrugineus
A tiny cylindrical bark beetle that bores into tropical hardwoods to cultivate fungal gardens. It is...
Amazonian Giant Centipede-Mimicking Beetle
Phileurus didymus
A robust dark brown rhinoceros beetle with two horn-like projections on its head. It breeds in decay...
Amazonian Ground Beetle
Agra sasquatch
A slender, elongated carabid beetle with an unusually hairy body for its genus. It was described fro...
Amazonian Net-Winged Beetle
Calopteron brasiliense
A soft-bodied beetle with broad, fan-shaped elytra featuring a net-like venation pattern. Its bright...
Amazonian Scarab
Phanaeus chalcomelas
A strikingly colorful dung beetle with metallic green, copper, and blue hues. Males have a prominent...
Amazonian Stag Beetle
Sphaenognathus feisthameli
A striking metallic green stag beetle from South American cloud forests. Males have elongated mandib...
Amber Rove Beetle
Mycetoporus lepidus
A tiny, elongate rove beetle with an amber-brown coloration and fine pubescence. It lives in the hum...
Ambrosia Beetle
Xyleborinus saxesenii
A tiny wood-boring beetle that cultivates ambrosia fungi inside tree galleries as food. They live in...
American Burying Beetle
Nicrophorus americanus
The largest carrion beetle in North America, once widespread but now reduced to less than 10% of its...
American False Blister Beetle
Oxacis taeniata
A small, elongate pale beetle with dark longitudinal stripes found in eastern North America. Adults ...
Anax Elephant Beetle
Megasoma anubis
A robust scarab beetle found in Amazonian forests with a distinctive dark brown coloration. Males po...
Andean Caterpillar Hunter
Calosoma abbreviatum
A South American caterpillar hunter beetle found in highland regions. It has dark bronze elytra and ...
Andean Cerambycid Beetle
Psalidognathus friendii
A large and impressive longhorn beetle from the high Andes, with a brilliant metallic green, blue, o...
Andean Cloud Forest Ground Beetle
Notiobia nebrioides
A medium-sized dark brown ground beetle found in the cloud forests of the Andes mountains. It is typ...
Annulated Longhorn
Chloridolum annulare
A slender metallic green longhorn with distinctive dark rings on the antennae, giving it its common ...
Anophthalmus Cave Beetle
Anophthalmus hitleri
A small, blind, depigmented cave beetle found in only a handful of caves in Slovenia. It has elongat...
Ant Beetle
Thanasimus formicarius
A brightly colored red and black bark beetle predator that mimics ants. It hunts bark beetles on pin...
Ant Nest Beetle
Paussus favieri
A bizarre reddish-brown beetle with swollen club-shaped antennae that lives inside ant nests. It mim...
Ant-like Flower Beetle
Anthicus antherinus
A tiny beetle resembling an ant, found on flowers and under debris. Has a distinctive narrowed 'neck...
Ant-Nest Hister Beetle
Hetaerius ferrugineus
A tiny, reddish-brown hister beetle that lives exclusively inside ant nests. It is tolerated by its ...
Ant-Nest Rove Beetle
Atemeles emarginatus
A small, amber-brown rove beetle that parasitizes two different ant species during its life cycle. L...
Ant-nest Scydmaenine
Cephennium gallicum
A tiny, blind, pale yellow scydmaenine rove beetle found exclusively in ant nests. Its reduced eyes ...
Arabian Darkling Beetle
Trachyderma hispida
A hairy, broad-bodied darkling beetle found in Arabian and North African deserts. Fine hairs on its ...
Arboreal Ground Beetle
Dromius quadrimaculatus
A small, flattened ground beetle that lives primarily on trees rather than on the ground. It has a d...
Archangel Longitarsus
Longitarsus ganglbaueri
A minute flea beetle associated with yellow archangel in European woodlands. Larvae mine in the root...
Arctic Click Beetle
Hypnoidus riparius
A small, brown click beetle with a distinctive snapping mechanism that allows it to flip itself upri...
Arctic Ground Beetle
Amara alpina
A small, dark bronze ground beetle found on Arctic and alpine tundra. It has a broad, flattened body...
Arctic Rove Beetle
Quedius boops
A medium-sized rove beetle with a sleek black body and short elytra. It has large eyes for hunting i...
Arctic Weevil
Otiorhynchus arcticus
A small, dark, flightless weevil with a short broad snout and rough-textured elytra. Adults are noct...
Army Ant Rove Beetle
Ecitomorpha arachnoides
An extraordinary myrmecophilous rove beetle whose body remarkably mimics the shape of its host army ...
Ash Bark Weevil
Magdalis armigera
A small black weevil that breeds under the bark of ash trees. Larvae create winding galleries in the...
Asian Atlas Dung Beetle
Catharsius pithecius
A large black tunneling dung beetle from Southeast Asia with two stout pronotal horns in males. It r...
Asian Giant Rove Beetle
Platydracus sharpi
A large, striking rove beetle from East Asia with metallic blue-green coloration and golden pubescen...
Asian Lady Beetle (Harlequin)
Harmonia yedoensis
A large ladybug native to Japan, closely related to the invasive Asian lady beetle. Found in forest ...
Asian Longhorned Beetle
Anoplophora glabripennis
An invasive wood-boring beetle from East Asia that attacks healthy hardwood trees. The only eradicat...
Asian Mulberry Longhorn
Apriona germari
A large greyish-brown lamiin that attacks mulberry, fig, and other trees across South and Southeast ...
Asian Multicolored Lady Beetle
Harmonia axyridis
A highly variable ladybird ranging from orange with many spots to solid black. Originally released f...
Asian Rhagophthalmid Glowworm
Rhagophthalmus ohbai
A small beetle from the family Rhagophthalmidae with neotenic, larviform females that produce a brig...
Asparagus Beetle
Crioceris asparagi
A colorful blue-black beetle with cream spots and a red thorax that feeds exclusively on asparagus. ...
Atemeles Ant Guest Beetle
Lomechusoides strumosus
A parasitic rove beetle that lives in ant nests, switching between Formica and Myrmica host species ...
Atlas Beetle
Chalcosoma atlas
Named after Atlas from Greek mythology for its incredible strength. Males have three prominent horns...
Atlas Longhorn
Macrotoma palmata
A large prionine beetle from tropical Africa with palmate (comb-like) antennae in males. The body is...
Atlas Scarab
Scarabaeus atlas
A large, matte black roller dung beetle with a broad, shield-like head. It is closely related to the...
Aulacopus Prionine
Aulacopus reticulatus
A flattened, reddish-brown prionine beetle with strongly reticulated elytra found in tropical Africa...
Australian Caterpillar Hunter
Calosoma schayeri
An Australian caterpillar hunter with dark metallic elytra. It is an important natural enemy of past...
Australian Diving Beetle
Cybister godeffroyi
A large olive-green diving beetle found in freshwater habitats across Australia. It is one of the mo...
Australian Glow-Worm Firefly
Atyphella lychnus
One of Australia's few true firefly species, found in tropical Queensland rainforests. Females are w...
Australian Horned Dung Beetle
Onthophagus australis
A small brown tunneling dung beetle native to Australia with minor horns in males. It was one of the...
Australian Rove Beetle
Heterothops dissimilis
A medium-sized, dark rove beetle found under bark and in leaf litter in Australian forests. It is pa...
Australian Tiger Beetle
Cicindela hudsoni
The fastest running insect on Earth, clocked at 2.5 meters per second (9 km/h). At 125 body lengths ...
Australian Water Scavenger Beetle
Sternolophus marginicollis
A medium-sized water scavenger beetle found throughout Australia and parts of Southeast Asia. It is ...
Autumn Aphodius
Aphodius autumnalis
A small, dark reddish-brown dweller dung beetle that is most active in autumn. It has a shiny, round...
Balearic Green Lizard Beetle
Timarcha balearica
A large flightless leaf beetle endemic to the Balearic Islands. It is black with a bluish-purple she...
Bamboo Longhorn
Chloridolum alcmene
A vivid metallic green longhorn beetle with a slender body and long antennae. It breeds exclusively ...
Bamboo Powderpost Beetle
Dinoderus minutus
A pantropical beetle that bores into dried bamboo and other starchy materials. It is a major pest of...
Banded Alder Borer
Rosalia funebris
A striking longhorn beetle with bold black and white banding and long banded antennae. It breeds in ...
Banded Aridaeus
Aridaeus thoracicus
A medium-sized Australian cerambycid with a bright orange pronotum contrasting with dark brown elytr...
Banded Desert Darkling Beetle
Cryptoglossa muricata
A rough-textured desert beetle covered in tiny bumps that give it a warty appearance. It shelters un...