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Lady Beetle (22)
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![Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 33 W: 14 N: 50]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/s-s-g.gif) (247) | Beetles are one of the most diverse groups of insects. Their order, Coleoptera (meaning "sheathed wing"), has more species in it than any other order in the entire animal kingdom. Forty percent of all described insect species are beetles (about 350,000 species), and new species are regularly discovered. Estimates put the total number of species — described and undescribed — at between 5 and 8 million. This is why, when J. B. S. Haldane, a British geneticist, was asked what his studies of nature revealed about God, he replied, "An inordinate fondness for beetles".
Beetles can be found in almost all habitats, but are not known to occur in the sea or in the polar regions. They have a major impact on the ecosystem in three ways: feeding on plants and fungi, breaking down animal and plant debris, and eating other invertebrates. Certain species are agricultural pests in some areas, for example the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata), while other species are important controls of agricultural pests, for example the lady beetles (family Coccinellidae) consume aphids, fruit flies, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that damage crops. |
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