Beetles are the group of insects with the largest number of known species. They are classified in the order Coleoptera (; from Greek κολεός, koleos, "sheath"; and πτερόν, pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing"), which contains more described species than in any other order in the world.
In 1991, when Rubeus Hagrid first arrived at the Hut-on-the-Rock, Harry Potter felt that his eyes glinted "like black beetles under all the hair."
Black beetle eyes are sold at the apothecaries in Diagon Alley. The rate was five Knuts a scoop the summer before Harry's first year at Hogwarts. Snape keeps a jar of these (dead ones) in his office.
In 1992, Ronald Weasley accidentally squashed a beetle which he was supposed to be Transfiguring into a button, due to his broken wand producing a large amount of smoke, which obscured his vision. This annoyed Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher.
In 1993, a Pocket Sneakoscope that was later given to Harry Potter kept lighting up because Fred and George Weasley had put beetles in Bill Weasley's soup.
The Animagus of Rita Skeeter (a journalist) is a beetle. She is one of the four known unregistered Animagi of the twentieth century.

See also[]
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7