Polyphaga

Polyphaga is the largest suborder of beetles, belonging to the order Coleoptera. It comprises the vast majority of beetle diversity, accounting for roughly 85% of described species, and includes hundreds of thousands of species in many families. The group is worldwide in distribution and occupies a wide range of habitats, from forests and grasslands to freshwater environments, compost, and decaying wood. A key anatomical feature used to distinguish Polyphaga from other beetle suborders is that the hind coxae do not divide the first abdominal ventrite, whereas in Adephaga they do.

Polyphagan beetles exhibit extensive ecological and dietary diversity. They include herbivores feeding on leaves, roots, and wood; detritivores and fungivores; wood-borers; saprovores; as well as many predators and scavengers. The life histories are varied, with larval stages occupying a broad range of microhabitats and feeding modes.

The suborder comprises numerous superfamilies and families, making up a large fraction of beetle biodiversity. Major lineages include Scarabaeoidea (scarab beetles and relatives), Curculionoidea (weevils), Chrysomeloidea (leaf beetles and longhorn beetles), Coccinelloidea (lady beetles), Tenebrionoidea (a diverse pool including darkling beetles), and Buprestoidea (metallic wood-borers), among others. Polyphaga is globally diverse, with species adapted to virtually all terrestrial and freshwater environments.