Beetles are a group of
insects that form the
order Coleoptera . 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.