Read about related Coleoptera by using the "Forward" and "Backward" device icons. Beetles represent the largest Order of insects, containing over 250,000 described species. Beetle groups include tiger beetles, ground beetles, water beetles, whirligig beetles, fungus beetles, rove beetles, stag beetles, scarab beetles, wood-boring beetles, click beetles, fireflies, dermestids, ladybird beetles, darkling beetles, longhorn beetles, blister beetles, leaf beetles, weevils and many others.

Diving Beetle Genus species Coleoptera Dytiscidae Often attracted to night lights this large aquatic oval beetle has a smooth and hard black body. The hind legs are sculpted into a flattened shape to aid in swimming. When they come to the surface for air, they replenish a supply they keep sealed beneath their wing case. This group has long thin antennae and their swimming stroke involves a simultaneous kicking of both legs. Their highly predaceous aquatic larvae are known as water tigers and possess long sickle shaped jaws. Native American mythology of the Cherokee Indians include these beetles into their creation myths. They believed these beetles brought up the first land from the depths of a world previously dominated by water. View the Index of Orders View Complete Photo List Ants, Bees & Wasps Butterflies & Moths Flies Beetles Lacewings & Antlions Leafhoppers & Cicadas True Bugs Cockroaches Praying Mantids Grasshoppers, Crickets Walking Sticks Dragonflies & Damselflies Mayflies Non-Insects