No insect group has more species than beetles do. Beetles do have two pairs of wings, even though some species make the impression of being wingless. The front pair however is fully made of chitine, extremely tough and cannot be used for flying. We call them shields and one of their tasks is to protect the real wings, the ones used for flying, located beneath. Just catch a lady bug, put it on your hand pointing upwards. The lady bug will try to find the highest point and once there will slide away its shields, revealing the real wings. Immediately afterwards it will more or less elegantly fly away. Not all beetles have shields covering their entire body. In Western Europe lots of beetles are so-called Rove Beetles. They all have very short wing cases, leaving the greater part of the body *****. The real wings are folded under the remains of the shields, the same way earwigs do. Oil Beetles as well as a few Longhorn Beetles also have extremely small shields.
Most beetles have shields covering the whole body, like the Soldier Beetles to the left. However Rove Beetles, to the right, have very small shields.
Beetles are divided into a lot of families. Some of these can be recognised without problems, such as weevils, small beetles all with a very pronounced litte snout. Longhorn Beetles usually really deserve their name, for most of them do have extremely long antennae. The larvae of some longhorns live inside dry and old wood, including timber and are capable of completely destroying buildings. If you have a pond in your garden, this will regularly be visited by some water beetles. If the pond is of no interest to them they quickly disappear again, for like most other beetles they are able to fly. A few ground beetles though are so accustomed to running they lost their flying capabilities. With some ground beetles the shields actually grew together for better protection. The hard exetrior of beetles is made out of chitin. This is a very hard, strong and extremely light substance, found in all arthropods and in ome fungi as well. But even though this material may be light, insects are never very big. In beetles the maximum size is about 20 by 8 centimeters, such as the tropical Goliath Beetle, a relative of our May Chafer. The majority of species hardly ever reaches 1 centimeter, while many species even don't reach a millimeter! The biggest species we had in our garden so far is the famous May Beetle, which reaches about 3 centimeters. On our pages the smallest beetle is Anthrenus pimpinellae, a relative of the infamous Museum Beetle. Even smaller species can be found in our garden, but most of these are too small for our camera to handle.
This Skin Beetle to your left just reaches some 5 mm, while the May Chafer to the right reaches just over 3 cm.
Many beetles are beautifully coloured, while others are entirely black. Some species imitate wasps by being black and yellow, others have the same colours as the materials they normally walk on. Many groundbeetles are nocturnal animals and plain black. Like other insects, beetles may produce their colours in three ways. The first way of obtaining colour is by producing pigments which are mixed with the chitin. In this way the colours black, brown, yellow and red are produced and all colours that can be obtained by mixing these colours. These animals are fast-dyed. No matter in what amount of light or what angle you look at them, they always show the same colours. The greenish and blueish metallic colours found in many insects are produced in another way. Chitin itself is transparent. Keeping it that way the light would travel through it. But because of the structure of chitine, the light soon gets refracted, producing green and blue shiny colours. You may compare this to the breaking of light in a drop of oil floating on water. The structure of the chitine varies with each species, giving them their own unique look and colours. However the colours do vary according to the amount of light or the angle you use to look at the animal. Therefor the colours do vary in each individual. We call this structural colouring. Some beetles however use a third way: they produce a colouring powder which they put on their shields. This method is especially popular among weevils. This powder, like a lipstick, is not very enduring and must be renewed regularly. If not, the original colour will soon become visible at certain spots, making the beetles look rather worn out. By the way: beetles are not confined to just one way of colouring, they may use all methods at the same time, explaining why many black beetles have a blue or green glow over them, especially in sunshine.
The Weevil to the left looks worn out, for part of the green dye it is using has gone. The Longhorn to the right is fast-dyed though, for the colouring is caused by pigmentation within the chitin.
The chitin turns beetles into hard nuts to crack and is a very good protection from certain enemies. Yet a suit of armour like this has one disadvantage: it will not allow you to grow any bigger. That's why insects have a larval state. Larvae do not have a hard chitin skin and therefor may grow bigger. Their skin is rather soft and is changed each time the insects wants to grow bigger. Even though a beetle goes through the full cycle of development: egg-larva-pupa-imago, it may only grow bigger in the larval state. An extremely small May Bug is not a young animal as some believe, but an animal that suffered from lack of food during the larval state. Once out of the pupa, the insect has reached its biggest size! In the suite of armour there are just a few openings allowing the animal to live: the mouth, through which food is absorbed, the excretion hole at the back to get rid of useless stuff and the trachea, very small openings, usually on both sides through which air is inhaled. Insects do not have lungs. They simply inhale by means of these thrachea, tubes through which the air is transported into the body. The tubes get very narrow allowing oxygen to reach all cells of the body.
The chitin makes up the coast of armour beetles are covered with. The Shield Beetle to your left will fully retract under his shield when sensing danger, much like a tortoise does.
One of the frequently asked questions about beetles is the matter of age. How long will a beetle live? It is a very tough question to answer. Usually the question refers to the adult beetle, but that's unfair. The entire lifespan of a beetle consists of the four stages already mentioned: egg-larva-pupa and adult. The period spend in the egg stage usually is not taken into consideration. Like in birds, an insect is suppose to be born once crawling out of its egg. So we have to measure an insects life span by measuring how long it lives from the moment it crawls out of the egg to the moment it actually dies. But even then things get very complicated. A May Bug for instance may live for two years only, but may reach the respectable age of 8 as well. When conditions are very good, the development of the larva takes just two years. When food is scarce or not very nutricious it may take the larva 5 years to pupate. Then, when the adults crawl out of the soil they usually live for some 4 to 5 weeks. Females will live a little longer than males do, for after mating the eggs need some time to ripen in the body of the female. By then the male has already fulfilled his duty and will have died. However in captivity an adult May Beetle can live much longer, provided it is prevented from mating. A freshly born May Bug put into a tank and kept well fed may amuse you for some three years! However, given a chance to mate, the male will die after a couple of days and females right after depositing the eggs. In Western Europe there are only very few beetles that live for over a year once adult. Some brown weevils do, but all others will die rather quickly. Besides our winter forces most insects into overwintering. There is not enough food for animals to feed on, so all bodily functions are suspended and the animals wait for better times to come. In southern parts of Europe and in Northern Africa winter is no problem, but the heatest and dryest part of summer is. In these areas many insects do not overwinter, but oversummer instead. So, how long do beetles live? In some cases, as in many skin beetles, the whole lifecycle will take no more than three to four weeks. Some longhorns live on dry wood, not a very nutricious meal. They may live inside a tree or joist for up to twelve years, before appearing as an adult. However the adults hardly ever live over six months (not counting overwintering or oversummering). So generally speaking the life span of a beetle in moderate Europe varies from anything between three weeks to twelve years!
Grubs, the larvae of May Chafers and such, may live for some five years, chewing on not very nutricious grass roots, while some brown weevils live up to three years while adult.
Small Beetles (Several families( Rove Beetles (Staphilinidae)
In Britain there are hundreds of Rove Beetle species. Actually this is the biggest group of beetles in Western Europe. All species have very short shields (elytrae), covering only up to one third of the abdomen. The wings are folded under the small shields, much the way earwigs do. Only a few species have lost the ability to fly alltogether. Most species are small, but a few are quite big and behave baldly feeling threatened. Best known is the Devil's Coach Horse. A very common species, often found in gardens. Especially in autumn it is regularly found indoors, usually causing panic, fear and amazement. When approached it will lift its head and curl up its abdomen. This makes it look like a very small scorpion. It's his defense position: he's ready to attack. It has big, powerful jaws, easily capable of penetrating the human skin to deliver a painful bite and it won't let go quickly. And on the curled abdomen are two glands producing a very nasty smelling stuff it sprays into your direction. Still consider this a very welcome guest in your garden though, for it eats a lot of snails. Measuring up to 33 mm this is the biggest of all European Rove Beetles. A very common species all over the British Isles, including the Shetlands.
Our biggest Rove Beetle, the Devil's Coach Horse (Staphylinus olens), has the head of an alien...
There are only a few big Rove Beetles. The majority is smalller than 1 centimetre and a very large group even is below 5 mm. Many Rove Beetles are predators, hunting for insects and their larvae, snails, slugs and springtails. Many species live in or near muck or cadavers. Others are scavengers. The beautiful Rove Beetle below is a member of the genus Philothus, according to both: Guido Bonamie en Boris Büche. It is not possible to tell the exact species from a photograph. Philonthus species are very common in most gardens.
Thanks to Arie M. den Toom, Guido Bonamie and especially Boris Büche we now know the scientific name of the beetle below. It is called Platydracus stercorarius and is a very common small rove beetle. By the way: in the past it was known as Staphylinus stercorarius. It seems to run around in many gardens without even bearing a common name in English.
A typical representative of the rove beetles: Platydracus stercorarius.
Many Roove Beetles are very difficult to identify. Take the animals in the pictures below for instance. It is all black and has no real markings. So, these are Xantholinus species, but we most probably will never be able to tell which ones. This means we can't tell you any more on how it lives etc.
Two of the small Xantholinus species, which can not be told apart from pictures alone.
Alas, there are many more species which are extremely hard to identify. Take the one in the pictures below for instance. In this case the short shields are reddish brown and the real wings are just visible below them. We really have no idea about the animal's identity.
This is a family of tiny beetles. Apparently the family has no common English name. Their shape is very striking: the rear end has a sharply pointed ending. The species below can be found in the garden, running around on flowers. The lighter spots on the body can have all kinds of colours: white, gray, yellow or brownish. Hans van Duijnhoven identified it correctly. I did the same after Guido pointing out to me the right family. This species is scientifically also known as Mordella fasciata.
This very small beetle is called Variimorda villosa.
This beetle family consists of a lot of rather small species. Many species are infamous indeed. The larvae of some species live in warehouses, being able to destroy the goods in a very short time, while the larvae of some other species live of dead organic material, such as hairs and other fibers. Take the Museum Beetle for instance. It not only appreciates dead insects in nature, but the ones in museums and other collections as well. Another group of notorious beetles in this family is comprised of the Carpet Beetles. In nature however they clean up old bird's nests etc, just like the caterpillars of some of the House Moths do. The larvae of Skin Beetles are curiously shaped creatures though.
These are the curiously shaped Dermestidae spec, probably genus Anthrenus.
Most of the species however are not dangerous at all. The adults of most species can be found on flowers regularly, eating nectar and pollen. One has to look careful though: most species are between one and four millimeters only! Identifying them is very difficult indeed, for not only are they very small, they also do look like one another very much and many species are extremely variable. The identification below is a tentative one.
This is a relative of the Museum Beetle: probably Anthrenus pimpinellae.
Below the notorious Varied Carpet Beetle, also known as the Variegated Carpet Beetle or Museum Beetle. It is a very small beetle (1 to 3 mm long only) with a highly variable pattern of yellowish and whitish markings. It can be found all year round, both inside the house and outside. Has been transported by humans with leather, wool and textile and is nowadays to be found all over the world. The larvae live of all kinds of dead natural stuff, such as wool, feathers etc. In nature it lives in old nests of birds, wasps etc. The larvae prefer dead insects though and are capable of destroying an entire insectcollection in just a few months. When you discover just a few of them in the house, there's probably no reason to be alarmed. Most probably these are just overwintering adults. When you see more than just a few, there could be a reason to be frightened. In such case you should call a licensed terminator.
The larvae of this small Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci) regularly become a pest in a house, storage house or museum.
Below a much rarer species: Megatoma undata. It is a male, which you can tell by looking at the markings and the antennae. The white markings are much duller and smaller in females. Besides females have shorter and smaller antennae. The larvae feed on dead stuff, usually the remains of other insects. Not much more can be found about this species on the internet. According to some sites, mainly British, this species inhabits older forests. On some other sites, mostly German, it is a species reported to be found in the nests of bats. The species simply is not found very often. That is why it is on red lists in both England and Germany. Because of the hidden ways this creatures walks about it is very hard to say to what extend this species really is rare.
We know annoyingly little about this Megatoma undata.
This is a family of rather small and well-known beetles. Only few people actually ever see them, though. Their damage in wood, especially furniture, is notorious and the rather small holes through which the beetles leave the wood are known to almost all. This family of beetles has many common names. Woodworms is one of them, but they are also known as Deathwatch Beetles, Wood-borers, Furniture Beetles and Timber Beetles. And there is more. Not only do these animals attack wood, some species also do a lot of damage in bakeries, drugstores etc. The Drugstore Beetle, the Biscuit Beetle and the Cigarette Beetle all belong to this family. Like in most other insects the damage is done by the larvae mainly. Most adults will be happy eating some nectar from flowers, when available. In our garden we have found one species only. It is the Fan-bearing Wood-borer. One does not often come across it inside the house as the larvae prefer moist wood infested by fungae. The species prefers beech over all other trees. The so-called Furniture beetles are named after their larvae. Just like some Longhorn Beetles the larvae can live in dry, dead wood, such as... furniture. The larva of the Longhorns living in dead wood can do a lot of damage, for you don't see anything until the adult comes out of it's hole: there is no visible damage to the wood and you won't find the wood powder always seen with the small holes caused by Wood-borers. The Fan-bearing Wood-borer below to the left is a common species to be found all over Europe. Scientifically it is also referred to as Ptinomorphus imperialis. To the right a rare species found on the continent only: Anobium denticolle
Two of the many Woodworms. To the left the common Fan-bearing Wood-borer (Hedobia imperialis). Anobium denticolle to the right is not a British species.
Jewel Beetles are also referred to as Metallic Wood-boring Beetles and that name says it all. Most species have a torpado shape and short antennae. All have metallic colouring, sometimes really splendorous. They are scarce in Europe, as this is a family of tropical species mainly. In the Benelux countries one will find no more than about 30 species, many of which are very small and some are not very colourful either. Below a blue Agrilus species. Because its picture was taken in full sunlight, the pictures are not as good as we would like them to be. The larvae of some Agrilus species are among the most harmful around, able to kill adult trees in just 3 to 4 years time. The species below is called Agrilus cyanescens. It's a metallic blue beetle reaching a length of 4 to 8 mm. The larvae are often found in Honeysuckle, where the live just under the bark. Just before pupating they make a chamber inside the wood of the plant. Also libe in beech, birch, oak, bramble and roses. This is a very common species, even found in the centres of big cities. Inhabits Europe, Siberia and Northern America.
Not as beautiful as many of its family members, but still this is a Jewel Beetle: Agrilus cyanescens.
A family of small, often weirdly shaped beetles. Like the family name implies some do look like beetles, others remind you of ants. It is a very small family. Worldwide some 600 species have been found, in Central and Western Europe some 30 species have been discovered. Most species measure 5 mm tops. The antennae have 11 segments and are longer in males than in females. By the way, females and males often differ in many more respects and are often seen as separate species by mistake. Both larvae and adults can live under extremely dry circumstances. Their food is dry as well: dehydrated remains of plants and animals. Some species may become harmful chewing on precious insect collections, while others are just annoyingly present in storagehouses and stables, for even straw is favoured by some. We were unable to find good information about the species below. We do know however that it likes to fool people. After it was caught it pretended to be dead. It was absolutely motionless. We were even able to turn it around to take pictures of the underside. But when we went into the kitchen to get a drink and forgot to put a glass over the little bugger, it was gone by the time we returned. We never saw it again... The scientific name Bruchoptinus rufipes is also used for this species.
We were unable to find much information on this small Spider Beetle, which pretended to be dead: Ptinus rufipes.
One of the most common Ladybugs is the Seven-spotted Lady Beetle, often referred to as the Sevenspot or the Sevenspotted Ladybird. Not very difficult to identify, for it is a typical ladybeetle, red with black spots and the total number of spots is seven. The seventh spot runs on both shields and just in front are two small white triangular shaped dots. Like all other ladybirds eating aphids they don't real track them down, they simply stuble over them. The adults can be seen from March to November mainly, but in winter some remain active. The size is typical for members of this family: some 6 to 8 mm. The larvae are blue with some pink spots. They are often found near an aphid colony, eating the sap suckers one by one. But, given the opportunity, they will be eating other small insects as well. You may also see ants chasing the larvae away. Nowadays this species is used commercially to fight aphid infections on plants, just like the Two-spotted Lady Beetle and some Green Flies.
Two fine pictures of the Sevenspotted Lady Beetle (Coccinella septempunctata).
The 2-spotted Ladybird, also referred to as Two-spotted Lady Beetle and, especially in the USA, Two-spotted Ladybird Beetle, is a very variable animal in colouring. It could be red, orange, yellow or black, often with 2 spots, but actually any number of spots can be seen irregularly and sometimes the spots are not visible at all! In northern parts of Europe, Asia and Canada the animals tend to be all black. As black is the best colour to absorb sunlight, black is the best colour to warm up quickly. The animal is very common all over Europe and its territory covers even more northern regions than that of other ladybirds. Both adults and larvae eat aphids. Compared to the Seven-spotted Ladybird above this species is smaller, reaching a length of 4 to 6 mm. The adult beetle overwinters and is often found in garages, cellars and attics. Sometimes it even tries to overwinter in bedrooms and livingrooms. The low humidity and high temeratures in those rooms usually kills it due to dehydration. Most popular species among the lady beetles for biological agriculture. The larvae can be bought on the internet and in specialized shops.
Commercially of great interest is the Two-spotted Lady Bird (Adalia bipunctata).
The 10-spot Lady Beetle is even more variable than the Two-spotted one above. It is about the same size (4 to 5 mm), but can be a very difficult one to identify at times. Sometimes there is an additional dot on the edge of the shields. This makes you count 11 dots. The one in the picture below is a common varietyas well: the spots on the last part of the shields are missing, hence you count only 8 spots. Besides: it takes this species a long time to reach its final red colour, if ever. So many specimens are brownish, pale red or orange. Brownish animals often have creamy white spots instead of the well known black spots. And if that isn't enough there are melanistic animals: black with red or creamy spots. But except for the melanistic forms all animals share a common factor: the neck shield is white with four black dots or blobs, neatly arranged like in a circle around a fifth black spot in the middle. The animal is fairly common on the continent as well as in Britain, but a rarity in our garden. Only two popped up so far, and that's why we can't show you a lot of varieties of this species.
The Ten-spotted Lady Bird (Adalia decempunctata) is closely related to the Two-spotted one above and just as variable.
For quite some time we thought the animal below was just one of the variations seen in the Two-spotted Ladybird. Luckily Bertin Boertjes corrected us. This is the Pine Ladybird. It too is quite variable, but usually it can be told apart from variations of the 2-spot by examining the front set of spots. These ordinarily are shaped like (part of) a horse shoe. Commonly the animal is black with two red dots, but the dots, especially the rear ones can be yellow as well. Sometimes one might come across animals that are yellow all over! Below to your left a typical animal, but to the right an animal that might be another species alltogether, but still is a Pine Ladybird too. It is perhaps one of the most rounded of all ladybirds. Reaching some 3 to 5 mm. only it is one of the smaller species too. This ladybug is very common, but only when pines are around. In many gardens though this species will be very scarce indeed. The larvae especially are very interesting, for not only do they eat aphids, but scale insects as well. Scientifically this animal used to be known as Exochomus quadripustulatus untill recently.
Probably not a common species in most gardens: the variable Pine Ladybird (Brumus quadripustulatus).
The Cream-spotted Lady Beetle below also belongs to our most common species. Yet it is not often seen, for it lives high up in trees. Occasionally it inhabits lower shrubs and plants. The adults are seen almost all year round, for they overwinter. Best chances of seeing this species is in autumn, when it regularly falls down with leaves and is seen climbing back to trees. The spots are almost invariably arranged the same way. In total each shield has seven of them: one in the front, followed by three, usually almost in a stright line. Next are two dots and a single spot makes the number seven. The species is quite variable when it comes to size though: small ones may be just 4 mm, big ones 6 mm. Both the adults and the larvae eat aphids and such.
Below one of the Ladybirds showing square rather than round dots: the 14-spot Ladybird. Often one or more of the dots have merged. The basic colour may vary as well from white to deep yellow. The pattern of the black blob on the neck shield is variabel as well, but in almost all cases the basic colour is white and except for the big black blob there are no small dots to be found. Reaching 4 to 6 mm this is one of the bigger Lady Beetles. A common species in meadows and the edges of woods. The adult beetle may reach the respectable age of 2! Scientifically also known as Propylea 14-punctata.
In 1996 the 14-spot was discovered in a potato field in the USA. It is an invasion species over there and said to influence the native species negatively. The same is said of the Asian Lady Beetle, which has been found in many parts of Europe and was discovered in the USA in 1995. Anyway, the larva of the 14-spot Ladybird is quite an ugly thing. Still one recognizes the typical ladybird shape of this larva immediately. Like many other ladybird larvae it is very active, a good runner and mobile. The larva is used commercially to control the number of aphids on various plants.
The larva of the 14-spot Ladybird (Propylea quatordecimpunctata) is not a very attractive creature at all, but highly useful in agriculture.
The common name of this species Multicoloured Asian Ladybird tells it all. The animal does not originate from England, but comes to us from Asia and secondly it is highly variable. Both aspects are correct. The animal was brought into Europe (in Belgium, the Netherlands and Northern Germany) to be a biological killer of plant lice. Of course it got into the outside world. Conditions in Western Europe apparently were excellent, so the animal rapidly expended its area. First seen in the wild in Belgium in 2001. Germany followed in 2003. In 2004 the first were seen wild in both the Netherlands and France. In 2005 the first have been found in England. This species colonizes Europe very rapidly indeed. Some people fear that it may be a thread to our own Lady Beetles. The Multicoloured Asian Ladybird has extremely hungry larvae, which will happily eat other Ladybird larvae when plant louse is not available. This behavior is also common among our own species. The fact is that the larvae of the Asian species are much bigger and stronger than the larvae of our own. The adult beetles are very variable. Sometimes they are very similar to the 10-spot Ladybird: red with black dots. But it may also be entirely black with two or four white, yellow or red variable dots. If this is the case it is very similar to either the 2-spot Ladybird or the Pine Ladybird. Usually a good mark is the white on the neck shield. It is larger than in our species and reaches the edges completely. In the spring of 2006 the first larva appeared in our garden. In the autumn of the same year some 15 adults were seen at the same time, so the species got a good grip on our garden indeed!
The Multicoloured Asian Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) is new to Europe and reached Britain in 2005.
Fungus Eating Lady Beetles
For obvious reasons the ladybird below is called the Orange Ladybird. It is a common species of woodlands and both larvae and adults feed on mildew. The colour is a rather striking orange indeed. Usually there are 16 creamy white spots. This species is common all over Europe, including most parts of the British Isles.
A common species in woody areas: the Orange Ladybird (Halyzia sedecimguttata).
The beetle below does look like the Orange Ladybird a lot, but it is another species altogether. The orange is a little darker in colour and on the shields are only 10, rather large white dots. A typical ladybird, reaching some 6.5 mm. It differs from most other ladybeetles by being orange from below as well. Most other species have black undersides. It is rather scarce on the continent and is usually found only in places with lime trees on which the larvae depend. The adults are not dependant on lime-trees and thus pop up in gardens every now and then. It is not a British species, even though it is found sporadically in certain parts of England.
This is not a British species, but a continental one: Calvia decemguttata.
Another popular ladybird in many gardens is the species below. It is brightly coloured and has no less than 22 dots! This is the most 'ravaging' species, for it feeds on mildew, which it is spreading rapidly from infected plants to healthy ones. The larva eats mildew as well, but it is not that devastating, because it can't fly. The 22-spot overwinters as an adult, very often in groups. While overwintering it is regularly found in the garden under flowerpots, loose planks etc. On both the European and Asian continents this is a very common species. The scientific name is sometimes also written in full Thea vingtiduopunctata and is is also known as Psyllobora 22-punctata. In my experience it is the male that has a white neckshield. But whether this is the rule, I do not know.
The quite harmful 22-spotted Lady Beetle (Thea 22-punctata). The female is to the left and the male, having a white neck shield, is to the right.
The larva of the 22-spotted Lady Beetle is easily identified: it has the same colouring as the adults: bright yellow with black dots. Whenever you see adults on moulded plants in July or August start looking for the larvae, for they are definitely there as well. When the weather is fine they often do little to hide themselves, frequently walking about on the top side of the plants leaves.
The larva of the 22-spotted Lady Beetle (Thea 22-punctata) is as yellow as the adults.
