| There's
an old story, which may or may not be true, that when a
well-known scientist was asked how he thought God regarded the
world of nature, he replied that He seemed to have 'an inordinate
fondness for beetles'. This was a reference to the fact that
there are more species of beetles in the world than an other kind
of organism.
People also have an fondness for
many kinds of beetles and probably the most popular, and widely
collected, are the often beautiful Jewel Beetles. These
colourful insects feed mainly on nectar from flowers and live for
a very short time, often only a few days, so there is great
pressure to mate and lay eggs before they adults die. The
beetle grubs (larvae), however, usually live much longer and feed
on the carbohydrate rich, living bark inside the trunks and
branches of trees and shrubs.
|
