Setae – not in the middle of the abdomen, as you It looks like these arrows are show here, but on the encasing the horn. You could make sides and behind the eyes. it a bit clearer that they are pointing to the antennae. Also, the antennae should be fanned at the ends. The pair of horns either side of the central one are also too small and, from the side, you’re missing the bump in the central horn (see pic below)

Not ‘unfolded wings’. Use ‘membranous flying wing’ or ‘wing used for flying’. You’re also only pointing to one wing

If you use ‘elytra, you must point to both. If pointing to only one = ‘elytron’

An Entomologist’s Dictionary

Abdomen In humans, the abdomen is called the tummy or belly. In the abdomen is the bit of the body behind the thorax. It is the largest of the three body segments of an (the other parts being the head and the thorax).

Antennae A pair of sensory appendages on the head sometimes called ‘feelers’. They are used to sense many things including odour, taste, heat, wind speed and direction. (Single = antenna.)

Arthropod means 'jointed leg' and refers to a group of that includes the insects (known as hexapods), crustaceans, myriapods (millipedes and centipedes) and chelicerates (, scorpions, horseshoe crabs and their relatives). Arthropod bodies are usually in segments and all have an exoskeleton - a skeleton on the outside of their body rather than on the inside like us. All arthropods are invertebrates.

Beetle are one type (or ‘Order’) of insect with the front pair of wing-cases modified into hardened elytra. There are more different of than any other on the planet.

Chitin is one of the most important substances in nature. It is the material that makes up the exoskeletons of most arthropods, including the insects.

Coleoptera The scientific name for beetles.

Coleopterist A scientist who studies beetles.

Compound eye Common in arthropods, compound eyes can be made up of thousands of individual visual receptors. They enable many arthropods to see very well, but they see the World as a pixelated image – like the pixels on a computer screen.

DNA DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the blueprint for almost every living creature. It is the molecule that carries genetic information. A length of DNA is called a gene. DNA molecules are tightly packed around proteins to make chromosomes. A chromosome can contain hundreds or thousands of genes.

Double helix The shape which DNA forms when the individual components of DNA join together. It looks like a twisted ladder.

Elytra The elytra (single = elytron) are the hardened forewings of beetles and serve as protective wing-cases for the delicate, membranous hind wings underneath, which are used for flying. Some beetles can’t fly; their elytra are fused together and they don’t have hind wings. Entomologist A scientist who studies insects.

Exoskeleton An external skeleton. Insects have exoskeletons made largely from chitin. The exoskeleton is very strong and can be jam-packed with muscles, meaning that insects (especially beetles which have extremely tough exoskeletons) can be very strong for their size.

Habitat The area in which an organism lives. This is not the specific location. For example, a stag beetle’s habitat is a broad-leaved woodland and not London.

Insect Insects are in the ‘Class’ Insecta, with over 1.8 million different species known and more to discover. Insects have three main body parts, the head, thorax and abdomen. The head has antennae and a pair of compound eyes. Insects have six legs and many have wings. They have a complex lifecycle called metamorphosis.

Invertebrate An invertebrate is an animal that does not have a spine (backbone).

Larvae Larvae (singular ) are immature insects. Beetle larvae are often called grubs. Larvae look completely different to adult beetles and often feed on different things than their parents, meaning that they don’t compete with their parents for food.

Mandibles Mandibles are the beetles’ mouthparts. Mandibles can grasp, crush or cut food, or defend against predators and rivals.

Metamorphosis Metamorphosis means ‘change’. It involves a total transformation of the insect between the different life stages (egg, larvae, pupae and adult or egg, nymphs, adult). For example, imagine a big, fat, cream grub: it looks nothing like an adult beetle. Many insects (including beetles) metamorphosise inside a or cocoon: they enter the pupa as a grub, are blended into beetle soup, re-form as an adult beetle and break their way out of the pupa. Adult beetles never moult and, as they are encased in a hard exoskeleton that doesn’t stretch or grow, they can never grow bigger. Therefore, if you see an adult beetle, it can never grow any bigger than it is.

Palps A pair of sensory appendages, near the mouth of an insect. They are used to touch/feel and sense chemicals in the surroundings.

Setae Tiny hair-like projections covering parts of an insect's body. They may be protective, can be used for defence, camouflage and adhesion (sticking to things) and can be sensitive to moisture and vibration. Singular = Seta.

Species See ‘’. The Species is the scientific name for an organism and helps us define what type of organism something is, irrespective of what language you speak. For example, across the world, Baxter will be known as caucasus. However, depending what language you speak, you will call him a different common name. The Species name is always written with its name in front of it and it is always typed in italics, with the Genus starting with a capital letter and the Species all in lower-case type. If you are handwriting, it should all be underlined instead of italicised.

Stridulation A loud squeaking or scratching noise made by an insect rubbing its body parts together, to attract a mate, as a territorial sound or warning sign.

Taxonomy The practice of identifying, describing and naming organisms. It uses a system called ‘biological classification’, with similar organisms grouped together. It starts off with a broad grouping (the Kingdom) and gets more specific, with the Species as the most specific group. No two species names (when combined with their Genus) are the same: Kingdom →Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species. This system avoids the confusion caused by common names, which vary in different languages or even different households. For example, Baxter is a species of rhinoceros beetle: some people may call him an , or beetle, and there are lots of different species of rhinoceros beetle. So how do we know what Baxter really is? If you use biological classification, you can classify Baxter as: Kingdom = Animalia (animal) →Phylum = Arthropoda (arthropod) → Class Insecta (insect) → Order = Coleoptera → Family = → Genus = Chalcosoma → Species = caucasus. But all you really need to say is the Genus and Species, so Baxter is: Chalcosoma caucasus.

Thorax The part of an insect's body between the head and the abdomen.

Transgenic An animal can be described as transgenic if scientists have added DNA from another species.

The Beetle Glossary

There are over thirty different species of beetle featured in this book, but this is just the tip of an iceberg. There are more than 350,000 different species of beetle that we know of on the planet, and many more yet to be discovered. Find out more about the beetles in this story in this Beetle Glossary. Please note that, except where mentioned, none of these beetles are harmful to humans.

Common name Family Description Bark beetle Curculionidae Bark beetles in the subfamily Scolytinae feed and breed in the bark of trees. They are a specialised group of the (Curculionidae) Family. There are more species in this Family of beetles than in any other beetle Family. Most species of bark beetle live in dead, weakened, or dying trees, helping to renew a forest by killing older trees. Healthy trees have defences, such as resin, that can kill or injure attacking insects, immobilising or suffocating them with the sticky fluid. Blister beetle Meloidae Blister beetles feed on flowers and leaves, and are usually brightly coloured, warning predators of their toxicity. Some species secrete a poisonous chemical called cantharidin, which causes blistering if it touches your skin. Humans sometimes use cantharidin as a treatment for warts. Bombardier Carabidae Bombardier beetles are found on most continents in the World, beetle except Antarctica. They are famous for their ability to shoot a boiling, toxic, chemical spray from the tip of their abdomen. They fire with impressive accuracy and make a popping sound when they fire. This spray can be fatal to predators and can burn human skin. Most species of bombardier beetles are carnivorous and hunt at night, feeding on other insects. Burying beetle Silphidae Burying beetles (also called sexton beetles or carrion beetles) are the undertakers of the beetle world, feeding on dead small mammals and birds. The adult beetles work as pairs to bury a carcass underground, hiding it from other scavengers. They then chew off the hair or feathers and spit/wipe their bottoms all over, covering it with antifungal and antibacterial fluids to embalm it and stop it rotting. Some species let off a really strong stink of decaying carcasses when they are disturbed. They make a burial chamber, or crypt, around the carcass with the hair or feathers. The female lays her eggs next to the carcass and, when the larvae emerge, the parents ‘chirp’ to them to call them over to the carcass. The adult beetles then feed the larvae bite-sized chunks of the carcass until they are big enough to feed themselves. This kind of parental care is really rare in insects. Common Anobiidae Common furniture beetles Anobium punctatum are tiny beetles, furniture beetle between two to four millimetres in length. They have brown, oval bodies with a thorax that covers their head and looks like a monk’s cowl. They are woodborers: their larvae bore into wood and feed on it. They are also known for damaging books. They are from the Anobium Genus, which means ‘lifeless’, because these beetles play dead if disturbed. Darkling beetle Tenebrionidae When people imagine a typical beetle, they probably picture a darkling beetle. Many species of darkling beetle are smooth and black and stereotypically ‘beetle-like’. The elytra of some species of darkling beetle are fused together, so they can’t fly. When threatened, some can stand on their head and emit a foul-smelling chemical, earning this beetle the nickname stink beetle. Some darkling beetles, called cellar beetles live in our houses, hiding away in nooks and crannies during the day and coming out at night to feed on food that we drop. They’re like nocturnal vacuum cleaners. However, as we become tidier, we are removing their food and they are in decline. Darwin’s beetle Lucanidae A species of stag beetle found in and Chile, named after Charles Darwin who collected the species in Chile during the second voyage of HMS Beagle. The beetle climbs trees useing its massive jaws to fight off other male beetles in the competition for a mate, tossing them to the ground. They are usually a chestnut- brown colour with a hint of iridescent greet and feed on tree juices whilst the larvae eat dead wood. Sadly, this species is under threat from global climate change.

Deathwatch Anobiidae The rufovillosum is from the same beetle Family as the and woodworm beetle. It is a tiny (7mm long) beetle and its larvae feed on wood. It is famous for its mating dance, in which it head-buts wooden surfaces. In the days before electric light the sound of this mating dance used to be thought to signify an approaching death, and that’s how the deathwatch beetle got its name. Diabolical Zopheridae Diabolical Ironclad beetles eat fungus and can be found in rotting ironclad beetle wood. Some species look like blobs of rust or bird poo and some have the hardest exoskeletons of all arthropods. In , these beetles are sometimes decorated with costume jewels and sold as living brooches, known as maquech. Dung beetle Scarabaeidae Dung beetles feed on- and breed in poo (or dung), which makes them extremely useful recyclers. They bury dung down into the ground, where it is used as fertiliser by plants. If it weren’t for dung beetles, the World would be covered in dung! There are three main groups of dung beetle: rollers, tunnelers, and dwellers. The dwellers live in dung whereas the other two bury it. Unfortunately, there are no rollers in the United Kingdom, but over 40 species of dwellers and tunnelers. Dung beetles can be found on every continent except Antarctica, and at least one species of African dung beetle navigates by the stars, using the Milky Way as a guide to steer its dung ball home. Elderberry Cerambycidae The elderberry is a type of longhorn beetle that longhorn beetle lives in California and feeds on the leaves of the elderberry plant. Around two centimetres long, with antennae as long as their body, the male beetles have red-orange elytra with four oval spots, whereas females have dark elytra. Fire beetle Elateridae Fire beetles or headlight elaters noctilucus are a species of . They can produce light just like fireflies. These beetles have two spots on their thorax and an area on the underside of the abdomen that glow constantly. The beetle can control the intensity of that light, which will glow brighter if the beetle is touched by a predator. They are dark brown and small, roughly three centimetres long, with serrated antennae. They feed on pollen, fermenting fruit and, sometimes, small insects. They are found in tropical climates. Firefly Lampyridae Fireflies, or lightning bugs, are beetles. They are famous for their flashing rear-ends, which attract both mates and prey. The light from their lower abdomen is called bioluminescence and can be yellow, green, or pale red. Their larvae also emit light and are commonly called glowworms. You can see fireflies in the United Kingdom and across the World. Frog-legged leaf Chrysomelidae The frog-legged Sagra femorata, is named for the male’s beetle gigantic hind legs. These beetles can be found in the jungles of Southeast Asia. They are brightly coloured, iridescent beetles that can grow up to two centimetres long. The males don’t use their hind legs for jumping; instead they’re used to cling onto stems and leaves while they eat. The huge hind legs of the males may also act as awesome weapons for kicking and squeezing a rival male. Giraffe-necked Curculionidae The giraffe-necked weevil Trachelophorus giraffa lives in weevil Madagascar and gets its name from its long neck. Its body is black, with bright red elytra and is the size of a bean. Their absurd looking neck is useful for nest building and fighting. Goliath beetle Scarabaeidae Goliath beetles are named after the biblical giant, because they are some of the largest insects on Earth. Goliath beetles are found in Africa's tropical forests, and easy to recognize because of their black and white, zebra-like, markings. Adults feed on tree sap and fruit and larvae feed on decaying wood. Cerambycidae The harlequin beetle longimanus is a spectacular, large, tropical longhorn beetle native to the Americas. Its body can measure up to eight centimetres in length, and it feeds on sap. It gets its common name from the intricate pattern of black, red and greenish yellow markings on its wing covers. Its species name ‘longimanus’ refers to the males’ extremely long front leg, which are often longer than its entire body! Hercules beetle Scarabaeidae Hercules beetles are a species of rhinoceros beetle called Dynastes Hercules that can be up to seventeen centimetres in length (including their horn), making them one of the longest insects in the World. Native to the rainforests of Central America, South America and the Lesser Antilles, the adults eat rotting fruit whilst larvae feed on decaying wood. Like other rhinoceros beetles, Hercules beetles are strong and able to lift more than eighty times their own weight. Jewel beetle Buprestidae Jewel beetles are some of the most beautiful beetles on the planet: they look like precious stones. Generally, they are bullet-shaped. The larger, spectacularly coloured, iridescent jewel beetle species are prized by insect collectors and the elytra of some species are used to make jewellery. Jewel beetles are found across the World. Ladybird Coccinellidae You may think a ladybird is red with black spots, but they come in all shapes and sizes. There are forty-six different species of ladybird in the United Kingdom alone. Their bright colours warn predators that they are not good to eat and they will release a foul-tasting, yellow fluid from their leg joints if attacked. They are useful insects to farmers and gardeners, as they eat aphids and other insects that feed on crops and garden plants. Oil beetle Meloidae Oil beetles are blister beetles that get their name from the oily droplets of chemicals that they release from their joints when disturbed. If you are lucky, you’ll see them in the United Kingdom from March to June. They dig their nest burrows in bare, tightly packed earth. The eggs hatch into larvae, which crawl up the nearest flower stem (often a celandine) and wait for a to come to feed. They climb onto the bee’s legs and are carried back to its nest and fed by the bee, which assumes it is one of its own larvae. Many oil beetle species are endangered, with many species already extinct in the United Kingdom. Pleasing fungus Erotylidae Pleasing fungus beetles can be red/orange and black and are often beetle beautifully patterned. There are many different species but, because of their mysterious habits (they feed on fungi), they are rarely seen, except by mushroom hunters and entomologists. They are tiny (two to three millimetres long), with clubbed antennae and are found all over the world, but mostly in the tropics. Powderpost Bostrichidae There are many species of powderpost beetles, which are tiny beetle brown/rust-red beetles. Their larvae eat wood, leaving behind them a fine powder. Rhinoceros Scarabaeidae Rhinoceros beetles are some of the strongest creatures on the planet, beetle relative to their size, and some of the largest beetles at up to 13cm long. The giant horns of the males are used for digging as well as fighting and can be up to two thirds of their body size. The horns are hollow and light, so the beetle can fly. The beetle is protected by a tough exoskeleton, which is shiny and can be any colour between dark brown and black. Adults eat rotting fruit, tree sap and their larvae feed on decaying wood. This species is native to Asia. Stag beetle Lucanidae The stag beetle Lucanus cervus is the United Kingdom’s largest beetle. Stag beetles get their name from their mandibles, which look like the antlers of a stag. In the United Kingdom, adults can be found in gardens from May to August, searching for a mate. The larvae feed on decaying wood. Stag beetles are in decline, possibly because we don’t leave enough dead wood around for them to feed on. Taurus Scarabaeidae The taurus scarab, Onothophagus Taurus, is a type of dung beetle. It has two horns on its head, giving it a bull-like face, which explains the name. These beetles have been named the World’s strongest animal relative to its size for being able to pull over a thousand times their own weight! Tiger beetle Carabidae Tiger beetles are aggressive predators and have large, bulging eyes; long, thin legs and impressive, sharp mandibles. They are known for their speed and run so fast they go blind (as their brain can’t process the images they are seeing fast enough). They have to stop regularly to check their location and that of their prey. To avoid obstacles they hold their antennae out in front of them, and sense their environment. The fastest tiger beetle can run five-and-a- half miles an hour, which is like a human running two-hundred-and- thirty miles an hour! They can also fly. Titan beetle Cerambycidae The titan beetle Titanus giganteus is a huge longhorn beetle, found in the rainforests of , , and . It is the second-largest known beetle, at almost 17cm long, and a fierce- looking creature. The adults defend themselves by hissing in warning and biting. They have sharp spines and strong jaws, which are capable of snapping a pencil in two. Tok-tokkies Tenebrionidae Tok-tokkie beetles make a tokking or knocking sound by tapping their abdomen on the ground to attract a mate. Tok-tokkies usually live in hot climates, often in deserts, and have developed a whole host of adaptations to live there. Their thick, bumpy elytra are fused together, so they can’t fly. This helps keep heat out and water in. Some species have developed long legs to keep their bodies high above the hot sand. They feed on the seeds and grasses that blow across the dunes. Many desert species can do a handstand when it is foggy, causing water droplets to condense on their bumpy elytra and run down the grooves into their mouth: an efficient way to have a drink in the desert! Varied carpet Dermestidae Varied carpet beetles Anthrenus verbasci are very small (between beetle one to three millimetres long) and have rounded bodies, with a splotchy pattern of white, brown and yellow patches. They get their name because their larvae feed on clothing, blankets and carpets. The adult beetles are attracted to coloured flowers and flowering plants near houses. They fly through windows and you may not know you’ve been visited until you find holes in your carpets. They don’t generally cause too much damage, although they can destroy entire dead insect specimens in museum collections!

As you can see, many beetles rely on dead wood for food for their larvae. If you want to help beetles then leave a pile of dead wood at the bottom of your garden and don’t use chemical .