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Coleoptera

Deutsch: Käfer                         English:  beetles

Español: escarabajos              Français: coléoptères             

Italiano: coleotteri                  Português: besouros

中文: 甲虫                                    الخنافس :العربية

Regnum Animalia, Phylum Arthropoda, Subphylum Hexapoda, Classis Insecta.

​Ordo COLEOPTERA (Gr. koleos = sheath + pteron = wing). Hardened shield-like forewing (elytra), complete metamorphosis.

Familiae 235 (2011), species 387.000 (2015)

Warning!

Families

(alphabetical order of what we have here, with some combinations in galleries) :

Apioninae (Brentidae), Cantharidae, Carabidae, Cerambycidae, Chrysomelidae, Cleridae, Coccinellidae, Curculionidae, Elateridae, Geotrupidae, Lampyridae, Lucanidae, Meloidae, Oedemeridae, Pyrochroidae, Scarabeidae, Staphylinidae, Tenebrionidae.

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VIDEOS

Cantharidae

Apioninae (Brentidae)

In books of a few years ago "Apionidae" were a family. Now, those small insects with a big "nose"are classified as a "subfamily", part of the super family Curculionoidea. They live generally among the leaves, where we have to look well to see them.

Cantharidae

Thin and soft beetles, small and medium size. we can find them flying and standing on bushes and flowers.

 Carabidae

Very large and important family, they are predators with strong jaws living in the ground, under the stones, bark, litter, with dark or shiny body, often streaks on the elytra.

Ancora 2

Cerambycidae

They are the "long horn" beetles, for the length of their antennas, with long body and often big size, living on trees of woods. Their big larvae with very small or not legs at all, they are greedy wood chewers.

Cleridae

Soft, coloured, a bit furred. We generally find them on flowers, but most adults are predators.

Ancora 3

Chrysomelidae

It is a large family of beetles, also very different in size and appearance one from another, which generally live associated with certain plants.

Ancora 4

Coccinellidae

Ladybugs are among the cutest insects, loved not only by children, they are said to bring good luck. Adults and larvae are voracious aphid eaters.

Ancora 5

Curculionidae

The largest family of animal kingdom! They have long "nose" and "moustaches". If we look closely, we find them everywhere in natural environments.

Elateridae

They live where there are plants, foliage, bark, litter. Some of them have the ability, upside down on their backs, to jump like springs.

 Lampyridae

Males in flight dot the nights with their lights, even if they are increasingly rare in man-made environments. Many females have a larva-like appearance.

Ancora 6

Geotrupidae

Quite large in size, round, squat, "armoured", these beetles love all kinds of rotting substances, dead plants and animals, poop.

Lucanidae

"Lucus" in Latin means "forest". As they live in deep in the woods. The males of these large beetles have big protruding jaws, which in some species make them look like deer!

Ancora 7

 Meloidae

Plants lovers - but some species live also on the ground - they defend themselves producing an oily and blistering substance: medicine or poison depending on the quantity.

Oedemeridae

Long, thin, soft, with metallic colours, we find them on flowers. They have typical round "muscles" on their rear legs.

  Pyrochroidae

They frequent deciduous woods and log stumps, have a soft and colourful body, enlarged elytra and long antennae.

Ancora 8

 Scarabaeidae

Their larvae look like worms with small legs, and several of their adults are "armoured" in a spectacular way. They love plants, flowers, dead wood and some even poop!

Ancora 9

Staphylinidae

Under stones, in litter, decomposing materials, they have a very elongated body and short elytra. Some lift the abdomen like scorpions, and others - marked with the red color = danger - if crushed, they release a very irritating substance, also dangerous for humans, if it comes into contact with the eyes.

Tenebrionidae

Often black, but also coloured depending on species, various in shape and size, they live everywhere, also in human environments, as grain storage areas and cellars.

Videos

Per i video in cui servono , sottotitoli in inglese

All videos here are made by people who deals with or refer to the Museum. In many, one can hear the voices of children, while they  are discovering the small animals, with joy and surprise!

Ancora 10

This is from  a high school of agriculture, where they deal with insects. It is probably looking for food and in the end a hand pulls it up when it meets the larva. Carabus coriaceus.

But please remember, kids: DO NOT TOUCH THE INSECTS!

Carabidae are safe insects for humans and they do not suffer too much if picked up. But here we see that it can be much more interesting just to watch them, as they dig among leaves and stones.

Amara sp. Harpalus sp.                            Please, DO NOT TOUCH THE INSECTS!

Two  beetles of Chrysomelidae family found by the kids, during the early experiences of discovering, Brescia, Italy, 2004-2005.

Agelastica sp.    Oulema sp.

Often, surrounded by nearby humans, insects stop moving. It is their defense strategy, as many predators only attack what moves. We can take advantage to observe them. This, Curculionidae family, appears to have a big nose and mustache!    Phyllobius sp.

In the high school of agriculture, students deal with, breed, study insects, sometimes handle them. We got useful videos there but remember, kids, during your explorations: DO NOT TOUCH THE INSECTS!

Big-jawed larva of Carabidae.

In the high school of agriculture, they had a terrarium full of insects, which swarmed. There were also dead ones, and a larva, similar to the one the children found in the garden of their school.

Tenebrio obscurus.

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