ENY 3005 Family Identification

Coleoptera: Elateridae

 Common name: click beetles

 
Eyed click beetle, Alaus oculatus (Linnaeus). Larvae (wireworms) found in rotting logs. Adults often have pseudoscorpions riding on the abdomen under the wings. 

Identifying characteristics for the family Elateridae include:

• First abdominal sternite entire, not divided by hind coxae (suborder Polyphaga).
• Elongate, parallel-sided beetles, generally rounded at each end.
• Pronotum pointed on the posterior corners.
• Prosternum with a spinelike process that fits into a grove in the mesosternum.
• Prothorax and mesothorax loosely joined, enabling adults to arch, "click," and flip over when they are upside down.
• Antennae generally serrate, sometimes filiform or pectinate.
• Tarsi 5-5-5.
• Many buprestid species look like elaterids, but have the pro- and mesothorax tightly fused rather than separated and flexible.

• Curious about the common name for these insects? Put one on its back on a table, listen and watch closely, and you will soon learn why they are called "click beetles."
• There are about 800 elaterid species in North America and 7,000 species worldwide.
• Larvae, cylindrical and elongate, are called "wireworms." Many species are root feeders and may be serious pests of cultivated plants.

Click beetles in the genus Pyrophorus have luminescent spots on the hind corners of the pronotum and a third spot on the abdomen. The abdominal spot is visible only when beetles are flying.

For further information on bioluminescence, look at the following web page:
   http://ufbir.ifas.ufl.edu/ chap29.htm

References:

• Pages 166-167 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Pages 172-176 in R. E. White. 1983. A Field Guide to Beetles of North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 368 p.
• Page 429 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
• Page 471 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.
• Page 204 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.

Links to other web sites

• Featured Creatures - Family Elateridae