Pets and Animals World

Beetles have evolved over 230 million years to form one of the most successful groups of insects. Beetles can be found in almost all habitats, but are not known to occur in the sea or in the Polar Regions. They have a major impact on the ecosystem in three ways: feeding on plants and fungi, breaking down animal and plant debris, and eating other invertebrates. Beetles are especially successful in tropical habitats, but they can also be found in frigid mountainous habitats as well as in some of the hottest, driest deserts. Estimates put the total number of beetle species, described and undescribed, at between 5 and 8 million.