What is coteoptera?

1. What does Coleoptera stand for?
2. What is the defining characteristic of Coleoptera?
3. Where does Coleoptera come from?
4. Why are Coleoptera so diverse?
5. What do Coleoptera eat?

What does Coleoptera stand for?

: insects that are beetles.

What is the defining characteristic of Coleoptera?

However, the order is typically characterized by a pair of elytra (hardened front wings) and a pair of membranous hind wings. They have chewing mouthparts that may be slightly modified for various functions and undergo complete metamorphosis.

Where does Coleoptera come from?

We find that Coleoptera originated in the earliest Permian and that most extant lineages, especially phytophagous beetles, diverged during the Cretaceous, thus suggesting that the rise of angiosperms in the Cretaceous may have played an important role in the hyperdiversification of beetles.

Why are Coleoptera so diverse?

The extraordinary diversity of beetles (order Coleoptera; >400,000 species) has been attributed chiefly to the adaptive radiation of specialized herbivorous beetles feeding on flowering plants (angiosperms) (1⇓⇓–4).

What do Coleoptera eat?

Most beetles eat plant parts, either leaves or seeds or fruit or wood. Many are predators on other small animals. Some eat fungus, and there are a bunch of species that eat dung. Sometimes the larvae eat different foods than the adults do.