in the diurnal tiger beetles (Cicindelinae), which

catch ants and flies; they include the fastest of all

beetles and have exceptional vision as well as very

strong, sharp mandibles. In the water, the diving

beetles (Dytiscidae) fill the role of ground beetles

as active hunters, feeding on leeches, water snails,

and sometimes amphibians and fish.

In the suborder Polyphaga, which includes the

majority of all beetles, many feeding strategies are

used, and some of the most diverse groups have

made the switch to living plants, but some families

remain primarily predatory. Staphylinidae, as

adults and larvae, are either carabid-like active

hunters of invertebrates (such as the Devil’s Coach

Horse, Ocypus olens) or are predators in specific

environments, for example hunting for fly larvae

in dung or carrion, or ant larvae, while living as

myrmecophiles in ant nests. Most Coccinellidae

are predators of soft-bodied aphids or scale

insects, which occur in such large numbers that

adult or larval ladybugs hardly have to hunt at all,

but simply graze on clusters of barely mobile

prey. This apparently easy food supply comes at

a cost, because the aphids and scale insects are

exposed on the plants, making the ladybugs, in

turn, exposed to other predators; to protect

themselves the ladybugs secrete unpleasant

chemicals, combined with bright warning

coloration to deter their enemies.

left | Coccinella septempunctata

(Coccinellidae) Larva of the Seven

Spot Ladybird, widespread throughout

the northern hemisphere and seen

here grazing on aphids.

below | Dytiscus marginalis

The adult of the European Great

Diving Beetle is as voracious as

its larva. This female has killed

a stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus.