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About beetles
Identifying natural enemies > beetles
The beetles are a large and diverse group of insects. Beetles exhibit complete metamorphosis with egg, larval, pupal and adult stages. All beetles have 2 pairs of wings. The first (outer) set of wings are hard protective covers called elytra. The elytra cover the clear, membranous second pair of wings. Beneficial species of beetles are typically predaceous as both larvae and adults.

At right, lady beetle anatomy; below, lady beetle larva anatomy.

 Lady beetle
Lady beetle larva
   
About lady beetles - Coccinellidae
Lady beetle adult laying eggs. Lady beetle larva. Lady beetle pupa.
Eggs: Oval. Orange to yellow in color. Deposited in clusters. Above, an adult lays eggs. Larvae: Often alligator-shaped. Typically black or gray with light markings. May be covered with flexible spines. Pupae: Oval. Resemble adults in coloration. May look wrinkled. Often found attached to plant leaves or stems.

Adults: Generally oval. Elytra typically red to orange with dark spots.

Diet: Adults and larvae are predaceous, feeding on field crop pests including aphids, mites and thrips.

Learn more about these lady beetles

Additional resource: The University of Minnesota's diagnostic guide to lady beetles by Nancy Schellhorn.

About ground beetles - Carabidae

Adults: Usually dark and shiny with threadlike antennae. Color varies – commonly black, brown or metallic. Abdomen often much wider than the head or pronotum. Elytra may have striations or pits. Length: 3-25 mm.

Eggs: Deposited singly in or on the soil surface. Small, difficult to see. Number per female varies widely among species.
Metallic ground beetle Black ground beetle
Metallic ground beetle. Black ground beetle.

Larvae: Segmented, tapers from head to tail. Head large with well-developed jaws.

Pupae: Pupate in the soil.

Diet: Eggs and larvae of root maggots, caterpillars, aphids, beetle larvae and weed seeds.
The MSU IPM Program maintains this site as an access point to pest management information at MSU. The IPM Program is administered within the Department of Entomology, fueled by research from the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, delivered to citizens through MSU Extension, and proud to be a part of Project GREEEN.
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12/21/06