Feeding Beetle

Beetle is an insect which is found in all habitats except in sea and in Polar Regions. 40 percent of insect species are beetles and more new species are frequently discovered. They constitute the order coleopteran which contains more described species than in any order in animal kingdom. Some beetle species fall prey of various animals including birds and mammals. Certain species acts as agricultural pests such as Colorado potato beetle.

There are thousands of species of beetle in the world, and they eat all sorts of things; some are carnivorous, some feed on rotting wood, some on vegetation and others on cereals so the only general advice one can give is to ask the supplier what your beetles eat. If he is a dealer, treat his advice with caution: he maybe knowledgeable but equally he may be guessing - he could very well be importing the animals and selling them without having to feed them. If a beetle is a big one and bites hard and moves fast there is a good chance that it is a carnivore.

Things used for feeding beetle can be plants and fungi, breakdown of animal and plant debris and eats other invertebrates too. They are characterized by hard exoskeleton and hard forewings. Their mouthparts are similar to those of grasshoppers. The mandibles appear as large pincers on front of some beetles. The mandibles are a pair of tooth like hard structures that move horizontally to grasp, or cut food or enemies. Two pairs of appendages are found around the mouth in most beetles that serves to move food into the mouth.

Besides being varied, beetles utilize wide diversity of food sources available in their habitats. Some beetles are herbivorous that is they feed only on plants. Some species of beetles are carnivorous, while some of them act as scavengers.

Some beetles are omnivorous. They feed on both plants and small insects. These omnivorous beetles are rare. Other beetles are highly specialized in their diet. Many species of leaf beetles, longhorn beetles and weevils are host specific that is they feed only on a single species of plant. Ground beetles and rove beetles are carnivorous and will catch and consume many other arthropods and small prey animals such as earthworms and snails.

Decaying organic matter is a primary diet for many beetle species. Substances for feeding beetle also include dung which is consumed by scarab beetles, to dead animals that is eaten by carrion beetles.