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