Eastern-Eyed Click Beetle

Description:

Eastern Eyed Click Beetle Click beetles are elongated, parallel-sided and usually bear backward projections on the side corners of the shield behind the head (pronotum). They are somewhat flattened and range in size and color by species. Smaller species are about 1/4 inches long. Most species are brown to black in color, although some have reddish and yellowish colors and patterns. The eyed click beetle, reaches 1-½ inches in length and is beautifully marked with prominent oval eye spots on the pronotum and mottled gray wing covers. When placed on their backs, these beetles characteristically "click", snapping their thoracic segments (prothorax and mesothorax) to cause their bodies to flip in the air to right themselves. Larvae, called "wireworms," are usually hard-bodied, brownish, ½ to 2-½ inch long and cylindrical, with three pairs of tiny true legs behind the head and a flattened, and an ornamented shield-like segment on the tail end of the body. Click beetles also process a secret weapon which is guaranteed to startle both naturalists and predators alike. When threatened, a beetle's first line of defense is to release its grip from what it is climbing on, drop to the ground, and lie motionless and upside down until the danger passes. (This is typical of most beetles, and gardeners are well aware of this strategy if they have ever done battle with the Colorado potato beetle.) However, instead of playing dead as its cousins do, the click beetle arches its body and launches itself repeatedly into the air with an audible "click." Often it jumps as high as six inches. When it feels secure, the beetle scurries off to safety. Predators may well be intimidated by this frantic behavior, although as you might suspect, cats find it rather entertaining. Click beetles are primarily vegetarians, feeding on roots and tubers. Some of the 800-species found in North American are among our most harmful crop pests, spending up to six years as "wireworm" larva in the soil. However our friend, the big-eyed click beetle (Alaus oculatis) is benign, spending its larval stage in decaying logs while hunting wood-boring beetles.

Habitat:

The Eastern Eyed Click Beetle is mostly encountered in all the American states east of the Great Plains and up north into Canada.