Singapore Wild Animals: Beetles

Order Coleoptera

Beetles are the most diverse order of insects. They are characterized by the hard forewings. Fireflies, weevils are all beetles^1,2,3,4.

Central Catchment. Chestnut Area ©Eddy Lee

Upper Peirce ©Eddy Lee

Rove Beetles, Scarabs, Fireflies, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Suborder Polyphaga)

Scarabs, Stag Beetles, etc (Infraorder Scarabaeoidea)

Chafer Beetle (Phyllophaga marginalis) at Mandai. Rifle Range ©Eddy Lee

East Coast ©Sylvia Chua. Rhino Beetle at Woodlands ©Tan KH

Seletar West ©Lau JS

Dung beetle pushing a ball of dung while a fly looked on at Lorong Halus ©Tan KH

Fireflies, Fan-horned Beetles, etc (Infraorder Elateriformia)

Fireflies (Family Lampyridae) are beetles in which the abdomen can give off light. Fan-horned Beetle (Family Rhipiceridae) has unusual fan-shaped feeler.

Fan-horned Beetle at Rifle Range and Dairy Farm ©Eddy Lee

Firefly at Chestnut Trail ©Eddy Lee

Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Infraorder Cucujiformia)

There are 6 superfamilies in this infraorder. Superfamily Chrysomeloidea contains the leaf and long-horned beetles.

Leaf Beetles (Family Chrysomelidae) are the most commonly encountered beetles.

Choa Chu Kang. NTU ©Eddy Lee

©Eddy Lee

Chestnut Area ©Eddy Lee

Altica cyanea, Lema diversa at Chestnut Area ©Eddy Lee

Colasposoma auripenne, Trichochrysea hirta at Chestnut Area ©Eddy Lee

Tortoise Beetles (Subfamily Hispinae) look like ladybirds, but are grouped with the Leaf Beetles (Family Chrysomelidae). They are so called because of the outer shell that covers the whole body.

Aspidomorpha miliaris at Chestnut Area ©Eddy Lee

Chiridopsis scalaris at Chestnut Area. A Tortoise Beetle larva ©Eddy Lee

Laccoptera nepalensis at Chestnut Area ©Eddy Lee

Aspidomorpha furcata. Cassida circumdata ©Eddy Lee

Long-horned Beetles (Family Cerambycidae) are so called because of the long antennae, which can be longer than the body length. 234 species have been recorded in Singapore^[5].

Rifle Range ©Eddy Lee

Phoenix Walk ©Eddy Lee

Epepeotes luscus at Rifle Range ©Eddy Lee

The Superfamily Cucujoidea contains the ladybirds and fungus beetles.

Fungus Beetle (Family Endomychidae): Rifle Range. Chestnut Area ©Eddy Lee

Eumorphus marginatus (Family Endomychidae) at Upper Peirce ©Eddy Lee

Micrencaustes lunulata (Family Erotylidae), Languria mozardi (Family Languriidae) at Rifle Range ©Eddy Lee

Ladybirds (Family Coccinellidae) are easily recognisable from the dome-shaped body.

Chestnut Trail ©Eddy Lee

Illeis koebelei at Phoenix Walk ©Eddy Lee

Adult. Larva ©Eddy Lee

Weevils (Superfamily Curculionoidea) are sometimes also called snout beetles.

Tumbling Flower Beetles (Family Mordellidae, Superfamily Tenebrionoidea) are beetles with a sharp abdomen end.

Darkling Beetles (Family Tenebrionidae, Superfamily Tenebrionoidea) are so called as they are thought to be dark dwellers, but there are many while are not.

Ground, Tiger, Diving and Whirligig Beetles (Suborder Adephaga)

Tiger Beetles (Subfamily Cicindelinae) are grouped with Ground Beetles (Family Carabidae). They are predatory beetles and they have large bulging eyes and long legs. They are amongst the fastest insects in the world.