Eyed Click Beetle

Description:

Large beetle with huge eyespots on the pronotum.

Habitat:

Riparian hardwood forest.

Notes:

This was sited on the Cicada Trail at Lake Lewisville Environmental Learning Area, Lewisville, TX. General Overview Tucked into the folds of the soft rolling hills of north central Texas, situated beneath the Lewisville Dam, the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA) occupies a unique ecological position in the landscape of North America. It is here where the northwestern-most extent of the bottomland forests stretch fingers into the southern end of the tallgrass prairie of the Midwest; where the Elm Fork of the Trinity River winds its way out of the sandy uplands of the dry Cross Timbers into the deep, rich soils of the Blackland prairies; where agricultural lands intergrade with ranching and a rapidly growing urban expanse. With its diversity of habitats, LLELA is home to a profusion of wildlife. Within its boundaries one may find mammals such as bobcat, river otter, deer, and mink, along with birds such as wild turkey, painted bunting, and dozens of waterfowl species. LLELA is dotted with sloughs, wetlands, creeks, and dry channels, the landscape features originally wrought by the Elm Fork and its tributaries during flood events. These remain filled by rainwater, flooding, and groundwater discharge, where one may find many ducks, turtles, wading birds, wood ducks, and other waterfowl. LLELA, also known as the Lewisville Wildlife Management Area, was created in the early 1990s by a consortium of local, state, and national government agencies, who have obtained a 25 year management lease from the US Army Corps of Engineers. Today, the LLELA consortium is comprised of the University of North Texas, Texas A&M University, the City of Lewisville, and the Lewisville Independent School District.