beetle

a beetle

a kind of insect – {a general name given to the insects with four wings and with hard leathery covering (sheath)}feeds on plants, fungi and other insects; about 350,000 species (kinds) and as there are so many kinds, the sizes, shapes and life span are very, very different: the smallest being 1/100 of an inch (only one millimetre) and the largest being about six inches, and lives for about a few weeks to a few years; most of them live on plants, but some live on other insects and other material, too; some are useful and some others are harmful to the plant life and crops;

most of them fly, but a few species are flightless (cannot fly), so live on the ground making burrows, and some live in water; found almost everywhere, except in the seas and the polar regions; some are very colourful to look at and some are really ugly and scary

a shiny beetle with its wings open

Few of the names of beetles commonly found are: boll weevil, blister beetle, burying beetle, bombardier beetle, black rain beetle, bark beetle, Colorado potato beetle, cowpea beetle or mungbean beetle, clown beetle, carrot weevil, click beetle, carrion beetle, coconut hispine beetle, darkling beetle, death watch beetle, dung beetle, elm leaf beetle, flea beetle, flea weevil, flour beetle, ground beetle, glow worm, golden tortoise beetle, lady bird or lady bug, long-horned beetle, leaf beetle, lycid beetle, mugbean or cowpea beetle, mountain pine beetle, rove beetle, rhinoceros beetle, scarab beetle, soldier blister beetle, stag beetle, whirligig beetle,  and so on and so on …


Figures of Speech:

1.beetle (noun)  =

(a) a person with short-sight (cannot see things some distance away)

(b) a type of dome-shaped German car produced by the Volks Wagen company

2.

beetle-browed  =  (said of someone) with bushy eyebrows

3.

(a) as blind as a beetle

(b) as deaf as a beetle

(c) as mad as a beetle

4.

to ride on a beetle  =  to walk with a group of people riding horses

5.

so mean he (someone) wouldn’t give what would blind a beetle’s eye  (said of someone who is very mean, stingy)

6.

tears running down his/her cheeks like beetles up a hill (said to tease or make fun of a child who cries a lot over nothing)

7.

to beetle along/about/away/off  =  to move quickly; to hurry away, especially trying not to be noticed

About the Author:BC Kumar

BC Kumar, an English Language Teacher, taught in numerous countries including Ethiopia, Oman and India, shares his knowledge and passion for the English Language. Disclaimer: This is a free educational website and all content has been compiled by the author. All copyrights to images and videos belong to their respective owners.

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