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
Spread-antler Stag Beetle
Odontolabis siva
A large Himalayan stag beetle with widely spread mandibles in major males. Body color ranges from bl...
Spring Click Beetle
Denticollis linearis
A bicoloured click beetle with tawny-brown elytra and a dark thorax, common in spring. It is frequen...
Spring Dor Beetle
Geotrupes vernalis
A medium-sized, metallic blue-green to violet dung beetle active in spring. Unlike other dor beetles...
Spring Firefly
Photinus ardens
A small early-season firefly of the eastern United States with a distinctive fast double-pulse flash...
Spring Pygmy Firefly
Pleotomus pallens
A tiny, rarely seen firefly of the eastern United States with a very short adult life span. Males pr...
Spruce Beetle
Dendroctonus rufipennis
A dark brown to black bark beetle that is the primary killer of mature spruce trees in North America...
Sri Lankan Firefly
Luciola singalesa
A tropical firefly endemic to Sri Lanka found in lowland forests. It produces a bright yellow-green ...
Sri Lankan Relict Ant Beetle
Helota vigorsii
A rare beetle found only in the wet zone forests of Sri Lanka. It lives under bark and is associated...
Stag Beetle
Lucanus cervus
Europes largest beetle. Males have dramatically enlarged mandibles resembling antlers, used in wrest...
Stag Beetle Mimic Longhorn
Cerambyx scopolii
A medium-sized dark brown longhorn beetle common across Europe. Adults emerge in late spring and are...
Stag Beetle of Rhodes
Dorcus rhodensis
A stag beetle endemic to the Greek island of Rhodes. Males have large mandibles used in combat over ...
Stag-Horned Dung Beetle
Onthophagus rangifer
A small, dark brown tunneling dung beetle with spectacularly branched antler-like horns in major mal...
Stag-jawed Longhorn
Dorysthenes buqueti
A large dark brown longhorn beetle with massive toothed mandibles in males resembling those of stag ...
Steelblue Jewel Beetle
Phaenops cyanea
A compact dark metallic blue-green beetle that attacks stressed pine trees. It has infrared sensors ...
Steelblue Jewel Leaf Beetle
Lamprolina aeneipennis
A large, robust Australian leaf beetle with brilliant metallic steely-blue to purple elytra and a da...
Steelblue Ladybird
Halmus chalybeus
A small metallic blue-green ladybird native to Australia. It is an important predator of scale insec...
Stellate Dung Beetle
Gymnopleurus humanus
A medium-sized, glossy black roller found in African savannas. It has a nearly perfectly spherical b...
Stenus Jet Rove Beetle
Stenus bimaculatus
A small rove beetle with bulging eyes and an extensible sticky labium used to capture springtails. I...
Steppe Darkling Beetle
Blaps mortisaga
A large, slow-moving black beetle found in dry steppe and semi-desert regions from Europe to Central...
Stinking Longhorn
Aromia moschata ambrosiaca
A subspecies of the musk beetle with even more intense metallic coloring and a slightly different fr...
Stinking Rove Beetle
Ocypus nero
A jet-black rove beetle with finely punctured elytra and a broad head. It emits a foul-smelling secr...
Stridulating Passalid
Passalus punctatostriatus
A large, shiny black bess beetle with prominently punctate-striate elytra and strong mandibles. It l...
Striped Ambrosia Beetle
Trypodendron lineatum
A widespread ambrosia beetle that attacks freshly felled conifers. It cultivates symbiotic fungi ins...
Striped Click Beetle
Chalcolepidius striatus
A large neotropical click beetle with dark elytra bearing distinct white-scaled longitudinal stripes...
Striped Crawling Water Beetle
Haliplus lineaticollis
A small yellowish-brown beetle with distinctive dark longitudinal stripes on the pronotum. It is com...
Striped Cucumber Beetle
Acalymma vittatum
A yellow beetle with three black stripes that specializes on cucurbit crops. It is a major vector of...
Striped Dung Beetle
Paragymnopleurus striatus
A small to medium roller dung beetle with faint longitudinal striations on the elytra. It is black w...
Striped Flea Beetle
Phyllotreta striolata
A tiny jumping beetle that riddles cruciferous crop leaves with small round holes. Adults overwinter...
Striped Ladybird
Myzia oblongoguttata
A large distinctive ladybird with cream streaks on a brown background. It lives exclusively in conif...
Striped Love Beetle
Eudicella smithi
A colorful African flower scarab with bold longitudinal stripes on the elytra. Commonly bred in capt...
Striped Seedcorn Beetle
Agonoderus lecontei
A small, pale brown ground beetle with darker stripes on its elytra. It is sometimes a minor pest of...
Striped Turnip Flea Beetle
Phyllotreta undulata
A tiny flea beetle with sinuous yellow stripes that is a significant pest of brassica seedlings. Sho...
Striped Whirligig Beetle
Gyrinus substriatus
A small whirligig beetle common across Europe, with fine longitudinal lines on the elytra. It aggreg...
Stripey Longhorn Beetle
Zographus niveisparsus
A boldly patterned longhorn with white bands and patches on a dark background. It is found in tropic...
Styrian Ground Beetle
Nebria styriana
An endemic alpine beetle restricted to high elevations in the eastern Alps. It shelters under stones...
Subterranean Diving Beetle
Limbodessus palmulaoides
An eyeless aquatic beetle living in underground calcrete aquifers of Western Australia. It has lost ...
Subustus Longhorn Beetle
Toxitiades subustus
A dark-bodied longhorn beetle with singed-looking brownish elytra and moderately long antennae. It i...
Sugarcane Longhorn
Dorysthenes granulosus
A large reddish-brown prionine beetle with granulated elytra, found in South and Southeast Asia. It ...
Sulawesi Giant Stag Beetle
Dorcus bucephalus
A massive stag beetle endemic to Sulawesi with a broad, flattened black body and powerful mandibles....
Sulphur Beetle
Cteniopus sulphureus
A bright sulphur-yellow beetle that looks more like a flower beetle than a typical darkling beetle. ...
Sumac Flea Beetle
Blepharida rhois
A relatively large flea beetle with a mottled brown and tan pattern providing excellent camouflage o...
Sumatran Flat-faced Longhorn
Batocera numitor
A very large longhorn beetle with grey-brown mottled elytra and exceptionally long antennae. The fla...
Sumatran Neon Jewel Beetle
Chrysochroa rajah
An extraordinarily vibrant jewel beetle with iridescent green elytra bearing a wide metallic golden-...
Summer Chafer
Amphimallon solstitiale
A medium-sized golden-brown chafer that swarms at dusk around midsummer. It crashes clumsily into pe...
Sunburst Diving Beetle
Thermonectus marmoratus
A striking yellow-and-black spotted diving beetle from the American Southwest and Mexico. Its larvae...
Sunda Longhorn
Apriona swainsoni
A large olive-grey lamiin with a dense covering of fine pubescence, found in the islands of Indonesi...
Sunda Stag Beetle
Cyclommatus metallifer
A stunning metallic gold and bronze stag beetle from Indonesia with extremely long mandibles. Males ...
Sunflower Leaf Beetle
Zygogramma exclamationis
A pale yellowish-brown beetle with dark brown elytral stripes that curve to form an exclamation-mark...
Svalbard Rove Beetle
Atheta islandica
A tiny, dark brown rove beetle found in some of the most northerly terrestrial habitats on Earth. It...
Sweet Potato Flea Beetle
Chaetocnema confinis
A minute, shiny bronze-black flea beetle with enlarged hind legs for jumping. It creates linear feed...
Swift Rove Beetle
Tachyporus hypnorum
A small, streamlined rove beetle of the subfamily Tachyporinae with a tapered posterior and bicolore...
Sylvicola Tunneler
Ontherus sulcator
A medium-sized, black tunneling dung beetle with deep longitudinal furrows on the elytra. Males have...
Synchronous Firefly
Photinus carolinus
One of the few firefly species in North America that synchronizes its flashing patterns. Thousands f...
Synchronous Firefly of India
Pteroptyx maipo
A small firefly known for its remarkable ability to synchronize its flashing with neighboring indivi...
Taiwanese Window Firefly
Pyrocoelia analis
A large Taiwanese firefly with a distinctive orange pronotum and transparent wing windows. Its larva...
Tanbark Borer
Phymatodes testaceus
A small, highly variable cerambycid ranging from pale yellow to dark brown or violet. It breeds unde...
Tanner Beetle
Prionus coriarius
A large, robust, dark brown longhorn beetle that flies noisily at dusk. Its powerful larvae bore int...
Tansy Beetle
Chrysolina graminis
A stunning metallic green and copper beetle covered in tiny pits. It is one of the rarest beetles in...
Tatra Mountain Beetle
Nebria tatrica
An endemic ground beetle found only in the Tatra Mountains. It lives under stones in alpine scree at...
Taveuni Beetle
Mausoleopsis amicta
An impressive flightless weevil endemic to the island of Taveuni in Fiji. It is one of the larger we...
Telephone Pole Beetle
Micromalthus debilis
The sole surviving member of an ancient beetle family dating back 200 million years....
Tellkampf's Cave Beetle
Neaphaenops tellkampfi
A predatory blind cave beetle endemic to Kentucky's Mammoth Cave region. It feeds primarily on eggs ...
Temognatha Jewel Beetle
Temognatha alternata
A large Australian jewel beetle with bold yellow and black striped elytra. Found in eucalyptus fores...
Tepui Firefly
Photinus tepui
A bioluminescent beetle endemic to the isolated tepui tabletop mountains of Venezuela. It produces a...
Termitophilous Rove Beetle
Corotoca melantho
A bizarre, physogastric rove beetle that lives inside termite nests in Brazil. The female's abdomen ...
Texas Stygobiontic Diving Beetle
Psychopomporus felipi
A groundwater-dwelling diving beetle from the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer in Texas. It was the first sty...
Thai Aquatic Firefly
Luciola aquatilis
A small Thai firefly notable for having truly aquatic larvae with functional gills. It was one of th...
Thai Synchronous Firefly
Pteroptyx malaccae
A synchronous firefly of Southeast Asian mangroves that gathers in large congregations. Males synchr...
Thalassine Green Longhorn
Chloridolum thalassinum
A beautiful sea-green longhorn beetle found in the forests of Borneo and Sumatra. Its coloration clo...
Thick-legged Flower Beetle
Oedemera nobilis
A metallic green beetle with splayed elytra that expose the wings. Males have distinctively swollen ...
Thin-neck Cave Beetle
Pseudanophthalmus parvicollis
A narrowly endemic cave beetle with a distinctively slender pronotum. It inhabits caves in the Appal...
Thistle Tortoise Beetle
Cassida rubiginosa
A pale green to yellowish-brown tortoise beetle with a somewhat flattened, circular body. It has bee...
Thomson's Longhorn
Batocera thomsonii
A large and robust cerambycid from the Philippines with chocolate-brown elytra marked by irregular c...
Three-Lined Potato Beetle
Lema daturaphila
A yellow-orange leaf beetle with three black stripes, resembling a smaller Colorado potato beetle. I...
Three-punctured Ground Beetle
Harpalus affinis
A common medium-sized metallic green or bronze ground beetle with distinctive punctures on its elytr...
Tibetan Alpine Ground Beetle
Carabus henningi
A high-altitude ground beetle adapted to the harsh conditions of the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding...
Tiger Beetle
Cicindela hybrida
A fast-running bronze-green tiger beetle with cream markings. One of the fastest running insects rel...
Timberman Beetle
Acanthocinus aedilis
A mottled grey-brown longhorn beetle with antennae up to five times its body length in males. It bre...
Titan Beetle
Titanus giganteus
The largest beetle by body length in the world. Adults do not feed, surviving on fat reserves from t...
Titan Flower Beetle
Jumnos ruckeri
A spectacular velvety green and yellow flower beetle from Southeast Asian highlands. Males have dist...
Titan Longhorn Beetle
Phoracantha tricuspis
A large longhorn beetle with brown coloring and three-pronged elytral spines at the tips. It attacks...
Toadflax Seed Weevil
Gymnetron antirrhini
A small dark weevil that develops inside the seed capsules of toadflax and snapdragon plants. Larvae...
Toadflax Stem Weevil
Mecinus janthinus
A dark metallic blue-purple weevil that feeds on toadflax species. Successfully used as a biological...
Tobacco Flea Beetle
Epitrix hirtipennis
A tiny brownish beetle that creates small round holes in tobacco and other solanaceous crop leaves. ...
Toe-winged Beetle
Ptilodactyla exotica
A soft-bodied beetle whose larvae are aquatic and breathe through anal gills....
Tongan Ground Beetle
Mecyclothorax tonganus
A small ground beetle endemic to Tonga found in native forest leaf litter. It is a fast-running noct...
Tooth Cave Ground Beetle
Rhadine persephone
A tiny eyeless ground beetle found only in a few limestone caves near Austin, Texas. It is a special...
Tooth-Necked Fungus Beetle
Bolitotherus cornutus
A heavily armored, warty brown beetle that feeds on shelf fungi on dead trees. Males have two promin...
Tortoise Beetle
Aspidimorpha sanctaecrucis
A spectacular Asian tortoise beetle with a translucent golden shell margin that reveals internal str...
Totara Longhorn Beetle
Xylotoles costatus
A longhorn beetle endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand. It breeds in dead wood of native Dr...
Transverse Ladybird
Coccinella transversalis
An Australian native ladybird with variable orange-and-black markings. It is an important biological...
Trechine Cave Ground Beetle
Aphaenops cerberus
A fully cave-adapted ground beetle from the Pyrenees with no eyes, no pigmentation, and extremely el...
Tres Marias Firefly
Photinus knabi
A small firefly native to Mexico with a yellowish-green flash. It has a dark body with a pale-border...
Tricolored Fungus Rove Beetle
Lordithon trinotatus
A small, attractively patterned rove beetle with three dark spots on yellowish elytra, found exclusi...
Trilobite Beetle
Duliticola hoiseni
Females are large, larviform, and look strikingly like trilobites from the Paleozoic era. Males are ...
Tropical Ant-loving Rove Beetle
Ecitophya simulans
A myrmecophilous rove beetle from Central America that lives with Eciton army ants. Its body closely...
Tropical Flat Bark Tiger Beetle
Tricondyla aptera
A bizarre, ant-like tiger beetle with an extremely elongated body, narrow waist, and long legs. It h...
Tropical Flat Rove Beetle
Priochirus abyssinus
A highly flattened, tropical rove beetle with a remarkably compressed body adapted for living under ...
Tropical Giant Whirligig Beetle
Dineutus indicus
A large whirligig beetle found on the surfaces of tropical ponds and slow rivers across South Asia. ...
Tropical Rove Beetle
Erichsonius cinerascens
A small, greyish rove beetle found in marshy habitats and pond margins. It is a useful bioindicator ...