Coleoptera

Old house borer larva

Description

Damage from old house borer

The beetle insect order. Coleoptera insects have more species than any other group in the animal kingdom with at least 250,000 types of beetles. They range in size from less than a centimeter up to 16 cm (Hercules beetle). Beetles have sheathed wings which meet in a straight line down the middle of the back. They have a complete metamorphosis that includes a larval stage. Beetles and their larvae have biting mouths and will eat nearly all types of animal and vegetable matter. Infected materials are damaged with tunnels and exit holes.

Examples of Coleoptera insects are: furniture beetle, Powderpost beetle, longhorn beetle, etc.

Resources and Citations

• MuseumPest.net at Link

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• G.Caneva, M.P.Nugari, O.Salvadori, Biology in the Conservation of Works of Art, ICCROM, Rome, 1991