Coleoptera: Adaptations

Hercules beetle is the

longest beetle

Coleoptera: Diversity

Make up 40% of insect species and

25% of known species

New species of bug was discovered in Costa Rica, known as

ants with two ovipositor

Staphylinidae known as

Rove beetles

Curculionidae are known as

Weevils

Staphylinidae: Rove Beetle

distinguished by reduced elytra: where

abdominal segments exposed

Most are predatory and live in decaying matter

Most diverse order of beetles: largest family of organisms

Staphylinidae: Rove Beetle

mymecophily which is species have interspecies

relationships with ants

production of one species’ chemical signals by another species

chemical mimicry

Curculionidae: Weevils

is the second most?

diverse order

Curculionidae: Weevils

Elongate rostrum located at the end of

mouthparts

Curculionidae: Weevils

Anatomy

Use mouthpart to bore into plant material and lay eggs

Antennae elbowed

Curculionidae: Weevils

Boil weevil devasted u.s cotton growing industry in which the USDA implemented what?

The boil weevil eradication program in 1978

Curculionidae: Weevils

Palm weevil female bore into trees to lay eggs and their egg hatch and pupate how?

Egg hatch: The larva feeds on soft fibers and terminal buds through the internal tissue of tree

Pupation: form cocoon of dry palm fibers in leaf litter at base of the tree

Aquatic Beetles:

Use elytra to trap air bubbles when

Submerged and have multiple adaptations for swimming

Whirligig Beetle

are known as surface swimmers due to

- eyes divided horizontally help see above and below water

- front legs adapted for grasping food/prey, hindlegs are salatorial

Whirligig Beetle

Males have modified front tarsi: suckers that

use to hold onto slippery female during mating

Colorado Potato Beetle

Native to Colorado but spread to potato plants and

Insecticides remain the main method of control but have developed rapid resistance to every insecticide

Bark beetles are the major pest of

conifer forests and bore into wood, feed on plants and tunnel

some are aggressive, and some attack trees already weakened by disease

Bark Boring Beetles

Mutualistic relationships with fungi which

break down wood tissues and can be pest of living trees, such as southern pine borer, emerald ash borer, ambrosia beetles

Tree defense produces what

sap, resin, latex

sap is the first line of defense

Trap insects making entry & plug bored holes of bark beetles and seal wounds

Rocky Mountain Infestation

Multiple factors lead to this?

Bark beetle infestation

- Climate change

- Faster reproduction

- Moisture stress from hotter temp weakening trees

Rocky Mountain Infestations

Impact the ecosystems by what exactly?

Watersheds (experiencing changes to storage and flow)

High rates of tree mortality alters gass between biosphere and atmosphere

Climate change (causes pest to more)

Coccinellidae/Lady Beetle(beneficial)

Friends of gardeners and prey on herbivorous homopteran pests (aphids/scale insects) in which?

lay eggs directly in aphid/scale to ensure larve have an immediate food source