Beetles

Coleoptera

Summary 2

The Coleoptera /koʊliːˈɒptərə/ order of insects is commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek κολεός, koleos, meaning "sheath"; and πτερόν, pteron, meaning "wing", thus "sheathed wing", because most beetles have two pairs of wings, the front pair, the "elytra", being hardened and thickened into a sheath-like, or shell-like, protection for the rear pair, and for the rear part of the beetle's body. The superficial consistency of most beetles' morphology, in particular their possession...

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Mick Talbot, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/25258702@N04/3649291662
  2. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleoptera

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