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For alternate meanings see: Beetle (disambiguation)

Beetles (order Coleoptera) are one of the main groups of insects. The order has more speciesThis article discusses biological species. Also see combinatorial species for the mathematical meaning of the term. Species is also a movie by Roger Donaldson. In English "species" is both singular and plural. The word " specie" is unrelated and is used t in it than any other order in the entire animal kingdom. 40% of all insect species are beetles (about 350,000 species), and new species are regularly discovered.

The forewingsWings can refer to several things: airfoils on an aircraft airfoils (sometimes also used for propulsion) on some flying animals (birds, bats, insects, etc) Wings (movie), a 1927 movie about fighter pilots in World War I Wings (band), Paul McCartney's 1970 of beetles are transformed into hard shells, called elytraElytra (sing: elytron) are modified, hardened forewings of certain insect orders, notably beetles Coleoptera and true bugs Hemiptera . They primarily serve as protection for the hindwings underneath, which are used for flying. In some cases, the elytra ar. These elytra form an armour protecting the abdomenThe abdomen (from the Latin word meaning "belly") is the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax. The front of the abdomen is the abdominal cavity, which is separated from the thoracic cavity by the diaphragm. The lining of the abdomen is calle and the sensitive hindwings. The forewings are not used (at least not actively flapped) in flyingThis article concerns the process of flying. For other meanings see Flight (disambig). Flight is the process of flying: either movement through the air by aerodynamically generating lift or aerostatically using buoyancy, or movement beyond Earth's atmosph, but they must (in most species) be raised in order to move the hindwings. After landing the hindwings are folded below the elytra. Most beetles can fly, but few reach the dexterity of some other groups, e.g. fliesThis article is about the insect. For other meanings, see Fly (disambiguation A fly (plural flies is any species of insect of the order Diptera, some of which can land on food and transmit bacteria to humans. Particularly the housefly Musca domestica is c, and many species only fly if absolutely necessary. Some beetles have elytra that have grown together and cannot fly at all; a few have lost their wings altogether.

Some beetle larvaA larva ( Latin; plural larvae is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a bue (young) are leaf miners.

Beetles can be found in almost all biomes, but are not known to occur in the sea or in the polar regions.

Beetles are endopterygote s with complete metamorphosis . The larva of a beetle is called a grub.

When J. B. S. Haldane, British physiologist and philosopher, was asked what his studies of nature revealed about God, he replied, "An inordinate fondness for beetles."

The study of beetles is called coleopterology , and its practitioners coleopterists. See list of notable coleopterists.