   the coleoptera  order of insects is commonly called beetles. the word "coleoptera" is from the greek , koleos, meaning "sheath"; and , pteron, meaning "wing", thus "sheathed wing", because most beetles have two pairs of wings, the front pair, the "elytra", being hardened and thickened into a shell-like protection for the rear pair and the beetle's abdomen. the superficial consistency of most beetles' morphology, in particular their possession of elytra, has long suggested that the coleoptera are monophyletic, but growing evidence indicates this is unjustified, there being arguments for example, in favor of allocating the current suborder adephaga their own order, or very likely even more than one. ==overview== the coleoptera includes more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known types of animal life-forms.powell (2009) about 40% of all described insect species are beetles (about 400,000 specieshammond, p. m. (1992). "species inventory", pp. 17â39 in global biodiversity, status of the earthâs living resources, b. groombridge, ed. 
Beetles