Editing Beetle (section)

===Locomotion===
[[File:Photinus pyralis Firefly 2.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Photinus pyralis]]'', firefly, in flight]]

The elytra allow beetles to both fly and move through confined spaces, doing so by folding the delicate wings under the elytra while not flying, and folding their wings out just before takeoff. The unfolding and folding of the wings is operated by muscles attached to the wing base; as long as the tension on the radial and cubital veins remains, the wings remain straight.<ref name="insenc" /> Some beetle species (many [[Cetoniinae]]; some [[Scarabaeinae]], [[Curculionidae]] and [[Buprestidae]]) fly with the elytra closed, with the metathoracic wings extended under the lateral elytra margins.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Šípek |first1=Petr |last2=Fabrizi |first2=Silvia |last3=Eberle |first3=Jonas |last4=Ahrens |first4=Dirk |date=2016 |title=A molecular phylogeny of rose chafers (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) reveals a complex and concerted morphological evolution related to their flight mode |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1055790316300938 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=101 |pages=163–175 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2016.05.012|pmid=27165937 }}</ref> The altitude reached by beetles in flight varies. One study investigating the flight altitude of the ladybird species ''[[Coccinella septempunctata]]'' and ''[[Harmonia axyridis]]'' using radar showed that, whilst the majority in flight over a single location were at 150–195&nbsp;m above ground level, some reached altitudes of over 1100&nbsp;m.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Jeffries, Daniel L. |author2=Chapman, Jason |author3=Roy, Helen E. |author3-link=Helen Roy |author4=Humphries, Stuart |author5=Harrington, Richard |author6=Brown, Peter M. J. |author7=Handley, Lori-J. Lawson |title=Characteristics and Drivers of High-Altitude Ladybird Flight: Insights from Vertical-Looking Entomological Radar |date=2013 |journal=[[PLOS ONE]] |volume=8 |issue=2 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0082278 |pmid=24367512 |pmc=3867359 |page=e82278|bibcode=2013PLoSO...882278J |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Many rove beetles have greatly reduced elytra, and while they are capable of flight, they most often move on the ground: their soft bodies and strong abdominal muscles make them flexible, easily able to wriggle into small cracks.<ref>{{cite book |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaento00capi_189/page/n3281 3218]–3219 |title=Encyclopedia of Entomology |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaento00capi_189 |url-access=limited |first1=John L. |last1= Capinera |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2008 |edition=2 |isbn=978-1-4020-6242-1}}</ref>

Aquatic beetles use several techniques for retaining air beneath the water's surface. Diving beetles (Dytiscidae) hold air between the abdomen and the elytra when diving. Hydrophilidae have hairs on their under surface that retain a layer of air against their bodies. Adult crawling [[water beetle]]s use both their elytra and their hind [[Arthropod leg|coxa]]e (the basal segment of the back legs) in air retention, while [[whirligig beetle]]s simply carry an air bubble down with them whenever they dive.<ref>{{Cite book |year=2001 |chapter=Haliplidae |pages=138–143 |author1=Arnett, R. H. Jr. |author2=Thomas, M. C. |title=American Beetles, Volume 1 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-1925-9}}</ref>