Terrestrial adults of aquatic beetles have short lives, living only to mate some species feed as adults, while others do not.Ī complete lifecycle of a beetle may take anywhere from a few weeks to several years.Amber is a treasure trove of information from the Earth's past, as it can preserve trapped plants and animals down to the smallest detail. The pupal stage tends to last several few weeks, and the exact duration depends on the type of species and on environmental conditions. When ready to pupate, the larvae will leave the water to find a spot on land, but still near the water, where it can pupate safely. The pupal stage of the beetle occurs on land. Upon hatching, the beetle larvae pass through three to eight stages of development, called 'instars', before being ready to pupate and transform into adults. Locations for egg deposition also depend on the type of species.Įggs usually take approximately one to two weeks to hatch. These are egg, larvae, pupa, and adult.įemale beetles can lay anywhere from one or two eggs up to hundreds of eggs at a time, depending on the species.Įggs are usually deposited on or near the larval food source, such as along the river's substrate, in the soil, or on a host plant. They may also communicate by sight, as fireflies do.Īquatic beetles undergo complete metamorphosis, passing through 4 complete life stages. To communicate with each other, beetles can use chemicals (such as pheremones) or sounds. One species of beetle, known as the bombardier, can create a popping noise to scare predators away by mixing gases that are stored separately within their bodies. These families are more commonly known as fireflies and glow-worms. Two families in the Coleoptera order are 'bioluminescent'. That is why riffle beetles must live in habitats with high oxygen levels, such as fast-flowing water with lots of riffles.īy mimicking the behaviour and odour of ants, over 1000 terrestrial beetle species can live in the nests of ants. Some adult terrestrial beetles store water underneath their hard exoskeleton to help them survive in hot desserts.Īdult aquatic beetles, such as the riffle beetle, carry their own oxygen supply in an air bubble underneath their hard shell. Proportionally, that is like a 150 pound person walking with a car on his or her head! The beetle is one of the world's strongest creatures: A species known as the rhinoceros beetle can carry up to 100 times its own weight for short periods, and up to 30 times its weight for any length of time. It refers to the hard sheath-like shells that adult beetles have to cover their softer hind wings. The word 'Coleoptera' comes from the Greek words 'koleos', meaning sheath, and 'ptera', meaning wings. For example, a beetle may be predatory in its larval stage but may be herbivorous as an adult. Large adults of the predatory suborder Adephaga can catch and kill tadpoles and small fish.īeetles of the same species may have very different feeding habits during different life stages. These mouth parts can also be found on some herbivorous beetle species, which use them for sucking out plant juices. These enzymes can break down the body tissue of the prey.īy liquifying the body tissue, the can suck out the insides of the prey animal. Some species of beetles also have specialized piercing/sucking mouth parts that they use to inject their prey with special chemicals called 'enzymes'. Smaller invertebrates may also be swallowed whole. Predator beetles have strong specialized feeding appendages (called 'mandibles') on the sides of their mouths. This scavenged material can come from aquatic vegetation, feces, or other organisms that have died.īeetle larvae that are predators feed on other invertebrates. Scavengers feed on decomposing organic material that has been deposited. Herbivorous may also suck juices from the stems of plants. They eat aquatic vegetation such as algae, roots, and leaves. Beetle larvae can be herbivores, scavengers, or predators.
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