BugBlogs: The Most Interesting Pest- Beetles!
Often overlooked, beetles are essential to the planet!
One of the most annoying pests just might actually interest you. If we go way back into time we can see that during the Jurassic period is when beetle species started expanding to an immense amount. This is in addition is when beetles started becoming more diverse. Beetles were becoming herbivores and carnivores rather than just scavengers.
Beetles are presently the biggest species group on earth. According to Smithsonian there are 350,000 species of beetles that are currently known but scientists have estimated there are about 3 million beetle species on earth. This would make every one out of five animals on earth would be a beetle.
The rigid shell over their wings is a possible defense mechanism so that way other predators cant attack their most vulnerable areas such as their back and neck. This could have caused them to survive and thrive for so many years. Many other insects don’t have hard shells over their vulnerable point and this would lead to the logical conclusion that this is why beetle species dominate the world in population.
Along with body armor adult beetles chew their food with tiny jaws, this was originally evolved for food many beetles have evolved to use their jaws to bite as an attack mechanism. Many beetles will bite if provoked, and it can lead to serious issues depending on the size of the beetle. While for most beetle interactions most likely wont have any issues if they decide to attempt to bite, however there are few species that can and will bite
Beetles play a tremendous part in the environment. They are the leading cleaners of the earth. Since a majority of beetles eat decaying matter they undoubtedly help get rid of waste. According to Animals Sandiegozo beetles keep everywhere from being overrun with decaying animal and plant matter. they also make soil more fertilized so vegetation can grow. Without the giant number of beetles on earth, we would most likely have dead things around for months before other insects took care of it. Beetles typically do a lot of the behind the scene work we don’t think about.
They also keep pest levels down, because many beetles eat dead matter. Beetles eat smaller insects like flies, ants, maggots, worms and all the other pests that humans try to get rid of in their homes. Beetles also consume a lot of food. Since most beetles can go weeks without food, they are typically eating any chance they can so they can store energy.
Overall beetles are very valuable to the environment and are walking fossils. They are incredibly fascinating and achieve a lot for the environment. Next time you encounter a beetle in your house maybe you will take it outside rather than squashing it.
