Coleoptera: the wonderful world of beetles! Quiz

Answer: The Chilean stag beetle

Antler-like mandibles of male stag beetles may be enormously developed, however, they rarely inflict painful bites. The shorter, stronger mandibles of female stag beetles, on the other hand, are generally much more powerful.

Answer: "Little doll"

Pupa translates as "little doll" or "little girl". The pupa is the final stage before the adult form. The larval morphology of a beetle is drastically different from that of the adult. Pupal stages enable the transformation from "worm-like" larvae to the hard-shelled, winged adult.

Answer: mimicry

Beetles are excellent at fooling predators. Camouflage, mimicry, and warning coloration are examples of protective tactics. Batesian mimicry is the most common type of mimicry in beetles. This involves the mimicry of one unpalatable species by another species.

The predator recognizes the patterns of both species as unpalatable, thereby avoiding both the original species and the mimicker.

Answer: stridulation

Bark beetles produce shrill noises through stridulation to attract and locate one another. Beetles use many communication strategies to locate mates, including mechanical, visual, and chemical tactics.

Answer: abdominal

The dorsal portion of abdominal segments of beetles are generally only lightly sclerotized (hardended). This enables a great deal of flexibility. The terminal segments of the abdomen are variously modified to facilitate reproductive activities.

Answer: Malpighian tubules

Malpighian tubules were named after an Italian anatomist (Marcello Malpighi) who first described this organ in silkworms. The Malpighian tubules are attached to the hindgut, and extract nitrogenous wastes (like uric acid) from the blood and dumps them in the hindgut.

Answer: spermatheca

The spermatheca is attached to the median oviduct. This sac can store sperm for months in some species. Eggs are fertilized as they pass through the median oviduct. Eggs are deposited by an ovipositor, which come in an enormous array of sizes, shapes, and colours.

Answer: Ladybug

The ladybug, or ladybird, is an excellent addition to any garden. These beetles voraciously eat all sorts of vegetable, grain, and flower pests. Unfortunately, the use of broad spectrum insecticides kills off these natural pest control agents. However, natural pest management programs are helping to increase the use of ladybugs and other such species in both residential and commercial gardening, thus reducing the use of chemicals.

Answer: Complete

Beetles are endopterygotes (wings develop within the larvae). Complete metamorphosis has 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.

Answer: Bioluminescence

Fireflies, or lightning bugs, use luciferin and luciferinase (named by Raphael Dubois after the angel of light, Lucifer) to produce light. The enzyme-driven system is powered by ATP. The system is almost 100% efficient; almost all the energy put into the system comes out as light. Adult fireflies control their flash patterns by regulating the oxygen supply to their light organs. Light emission patterns are species-specific.