Natural selection in beetles is a classic example illustrating how evolutionary processes work. In a population of beetles, there is variation in traits such as color—for instance, some beetles are green while others are brown. These color variations affect survival because predators like birds more easily spot and eat the more conspicuous color. For example, in an environment with dark-colored bark, brown beetles are better camouflaged and thus less likely to be eaten than green beetles.
Book novelties:
Prioninae of the World I.
Cerambycidae of the Western Paleartic I.
Start Shopping, Start Saving – prices from $3 USD
Because brown beetles survive longer, they have more opportunities to reproduce and pass on their brown coloration genes to offspring, making the brown trait more common over generations. This process, where individuals with advantageous traits have higher reproductive success, is called natural selection. Over time, if this selective pressure continues, the population may become dominated by brown beetles.
Natural selection requires three key conditions: variation in traits, heritability of those traits, and differential reproductive success based on those traits. In beetles, this means color variation must be genetic, and those with colors better suited to their environment reproduce more successfully.
Natural selection can also drive rapid evolutionary changes, such as in dung beetles where sexual selection and resource trade-offs influence horn size and reproductive organs, potentially leading to speciation within a relatively short time frame.
Beetles natural selection
In summary, beetles demonstrate natural selection by showing how environmental pressures favor certain heritable traits, leading to changes in population traits over generations and contributing to evolution.