Re: a wrong translation for over 40 years ?

Johannes Wentu wrote:

I know my question could sound blasfemous but i don't know a place
better than this to satisfy my curiosity.
In Italy it has always been said that the name "Beatles" is a pun over
the name of the insect "beetle", and that beetle means "scarafaggio" (in
italian). Now, scarafaggio is , according to my dictionary, a
"cockroach", but at the same time a "black-beetle". The Beatles were
often defined "the cockroaches of rock".
Is that correct ???
I would like to know what kind of insect is the beetle of Beatles ! a
scarab-beetle, a black-beetle, potato-beetle or what else ??? just to
avoid confusion, could you use the latin name of the species or at least
a brief description ?

Beetles are an entire order of insects, Coleoptera. There are more described species of beetles than any other order of animals. Forty percent of all described insect species (about 350 000) are beetles; estimates put the total number of beetle species, described and undescribed, at between 5 million and 8 million. (In fact, since most animals are insects and most insects are beetles, it is technically correct to say that all animal life on Earth is beetles, with a few strange mutant varieties -- like, say, us.)

Your question, therefore, is meaningless. The 'beetle' of the 'Beatles' is *any* beetle -- scarab, black, potato, or any of millions of others. It was a take-off on Buddy Holly's band, the Crickets. It is also believed to refer to another kind of 'beetle' -- a slang term back in the 50s for a motorcycle girl (used in the movie 'The Wild One' with Marlon Brando). It is also a pun on 'beat' music.

One thing is for certain: it has nothing to do with a cockroach. Whatever dictionary told you that, get a new one. Cockroaches are the Order Blattodea, not Coleoptera -- an entirely different group of insects. Order Blattodea (cockroaches) is in the Superorder Exopterygota (along with earwigs, grasshoppers, termites, mantids, lice, walking sticks, and many others), while Order Coleoptera (beetles) is in the Superorder Endopterygota (along with ants, bees, fleas, flies, and many others). (Both of these superorders are in the Infraclass Neoptera of the Subclass Pterygota of the Class Insecta, though.)

--
--Sean
http://spclsd223.livejournal.com/
'I ask you, is almost dying any excuse for not being fun?' --Dr Gregory House
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Maybe greenhouse gases are good...Giant insects might reign if only there was more oxygen in the
    ... Giant insects might reign if only there was more oxygen in the air ... said the study's lead author Alexander Kaiser. ... live off the oxygen they already have in their tracheae. ... whether tracheal dimensions increase proportionately as the beetles get ...
    (alt.politics)
  • Re: Why Were Prehistoric Insects Huge?
    ... the large insects back then were much more complex than today's insects, ... Science Daily - Alexander Kaiser, Ph.D., of Midwestern University's ... colleagues launched an extensive study using beetles and fruit flies. ... Findings show that Dr. Kaiser and his colleagues are on the right track ...
    (sci.geo.geology)
  • Re: Why Were Prehistoric Insects Huge?
    ... Not sure what data backs it up. ... the large insects back then were much more complex than today's insects, ... an insect's respiratory system that limited its size, ... colleagues launched an extensive study using beetles and fruit flies. ...
    (sci.geo.geology)
  • Re: a wrong translation for over 40 years ?
    ... Beetles are an entire order of insects, ... described species of beetles than any other order of animals. ... not Coleoptera -- an entirely different group of insects. ...
    (rec.music.beatles)
  • Re: Help to recognize this insect
    ... be able to tell you exactly which species these beetles are... ... I forgot to mention the size of these insects: ...
    (sci.bio.entomology.misc)