Perhaps in nature there is no greater variety of representatives than in this unit. The Beetle class is represented most widely in species in the fauna of our planet. To date, more than a quarter of a million have been described. But scientists add to these ranks annually several thousand previously unknown forms. So entomologists of all countries still have work to do. In this article, we will describe how these insects are arranged and answer the question of how many wings a beetle has.
Winged
This insect order is divided into 2 suborders. These arthropods are carnivorous and diverse. Most of the species are land inhabitants that inhabit a wide variety of areas: forests and meadows, marshes and mountains, even deserts. There are not so many parasites among them, and about fifty to fifty predators and herbivores. Coleopterans go through a complete transformation cycle in their development: an egg, a larva, a chrysalis and an adult - an adult.
Adaptability to the environment
The very great adaptability of these insects to the most diverse living conditions gives them privileges in determining habitats. For example, if there is no water in the desert, then this will not be an obstacle for some species of beetles living there (and here the winged wings are the most numerous group). They use water absorbed from food from plants, and burrow deeper into the sand during the day, but become active at night.
In the forest zone, on the contrary, there is enough fluid, but not enough heat. Beetles are active on warm sunny days. And they live almost everywhere, including in dead wood, where other species of insects could not survive (most of their larvae live here).
Some species adapt to existence at the expense of other representatives of insects, for example, ants. The owners themselves are not able to distinguish such beetles from their counterparts and are engaged in feeding their larvae as their own. Coleopterans receive food from homeowners and can as a complement to the table dab even ant eggs.
The interactions of the larvae of these representatives of coleoptera with plants are frequent and complex: the former biochemically affect the tissues of the latter, causing growth.
Beetle structure
It is traditionally believed that an adult consists of a head, chest, limbs, abdomen and wings.
The head has faceted eyes (they are absent only in those species that live in constant darkness). On the head in front of the eyes are antennae consisting of segments. The oral cavity is a gnawing type. The upper jaws are tools for grinding food (chewing). Sometimes in some males they can reach huge sizes, and turn into a kind of jewelry.
The structural features of the beetles are determined by the fact that six legs are attached to 3 thoracic segments. In some species, they have a variety of forms: for running, digging, swimming, jumping. And some have suction cups at the ends of their legs.
How many wings does a beetle have?
Coleoptera is the scientific name for the order, which unites all species. It reflects as well as possible the main characteristic characteristic of them: the front wings of these insects during evolution turned into rigid and durable elytra. Their functional features are protection of the soft upper abdomen, as well as the second thin and membranous wings from damage. Other, delicate wings serve the bugs so that they can fly. These are much longer than the first. However, when an insect crawls or sits, it hides flying wings under a hard shield from the elytra. By the way, they were invented by nature not only for protective functions. In many species, they are painted in the brightest colors, which helps to lure individuals for mating.
Summary
So still, how many wings does a bug have? Like all insects, that is four (two pairs). However, the front pair is converted into hard elytra. Hence the name - hard-winged. And the other pair of the same adult is wings with membranes, perfectly folding and delicate. They are removed under the elytra when the insect is not in flight. Now you know how many wings a bug has? And it is not surprising that some may think that there are only two of them. Indeed, in nature there are certain species in which the 2nd pair of wings is completely reduced, and they cannot fly (for example, darkling beetles or ground beetles). Sometimes, on the contrary, elytra are atrophied, which can have a short fused shape, and the main wings are open.