Click beetle
Click beetle is the common name for beetles in the family Elateridae. They are also called elaters, snapping beetles, spring beetles or skipjacks.
| Click beetles | |
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| Limoniscus violaceus | |
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| Superfamily: | Elateroidea |
| Family: | Elateridae Leach, 1815 |
These beetles can be found almost anywhere on Earth. They have the unusual ability to flick themselves into the air. When they do this, they make a "clicking" (or snapping) sound. The beetle does this by flexing the joint between sections of the thorax, where there is a spine on one side of the joint and a groove on the other. The peg is snapped into the groove. This makes a "click" that flicks the beetle into the air. If it lands on its back, then it repeats the click until it lands on its legs. Clicking is mainly used to escape from predators. The click can make it jump between 15 and 30 centimetres into the air.
Basic information
The Elateridae family was defined in 1815. There are about 9,300 known species.[1] This includes 965 species in North America.[2]
Some species are large and colorful, but most are under two centimeters long and dull in colour. They usually look for food during the night, and are usually not active during the day.
The oldest known species come from the Triassic period. There are only about 9,000 species known.[3][4]
Wireworms
Wireworms are the larvae of this beetle. They usually spend three or four years living under the soil. Here they feed on rotting plants and roots. They can cause damage to crops and gardens.[5][6] When this happens, they can be very difficult to kill off.[7][8][9][10]
Their famiily, the Elateridae, is known for its effects on agriculture, where they are notable pests.
Selected genera
Footnotes
References
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
. Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
Other websites
Media related to Elateridae at Wikimedia Commons- Elateridae in the United KingdomArchived 2012-06-03 at the Wayback Machine
