THROUGHOUT my time as a ranger I have spent many hours searching through the undergrowth looking for a variety of little bugs and beasties.

Even now I feel a great deal of excitement when a bug hunt leads me to find a member of the beetle family.

I have always found beetles to be extremely fascinating creatures. In spite of their general similarity, they come on such a vast variety of shapes, sizes and colours. In fact, beetles are the largest order of insect, with more than 4,000 different species found in Britain alone.

When one first encounters a beetle it is as if you are looking at an insect version of a tank.

They are covered in thick armour plating, and even their wings are protected by an armoured "elytra."

All this armour makes some beetles rather ponderous creatures.

To witness this just have a look at the effort it takes the dor or minotaur beetles to move.

In contrast, you would be amazed at the speed and agility of some of our other beetles.

The green tiger beetle found on the district's heathlands is astounding.

On warm days they speed along the sand, leaving you with the briefest glimpse of their metallic green bodies.

As well as their heavy armour, beetles are equipped with excellent vision and, in many cases, ferocious mouth parts too.

The best example perhaps is the devil's coach horse, which has an extremely broad bite.

The largest mouth parts however, are probably those belonging to the stag beetle. Its mouth parts are used as part of its courtship ritual though rather than for feeding.

Beetles are so varied, but my personal favourite is the long horn beetle, which I occasionally encounter.

It cleverly mimics wasps as a way of evading predation.