Photo: Melanactes species Click Beetle, Judy Gallagher
Judy Gallagher is an ASNV board member and a regular surveyor of local wildlife who also captures photos of what she sees, in particular the less common species. Here are some observations from her most recent survey.
Melanactes species Click Beetle, Judy Gallagher
When I was a young girl, boys liked to try to scare me by showing me snakes or insects. Click beetles were one of their favorite subjects. The boy would open his hand and the upside down click beetle would snap its spinelike structure into a groove on the underside of the thorax and flip into the air. I would shriek with surprise and then with delight as the boy recaptured the poor beetle and made it do it again.
I didn't know it at the time, but this is an amazing defense mechanism. It startles predators and helps the click beetle escape, and also gets the beetle on its feet again. The audible "click" when this happens is why this family of beetles is called click beetles.
Click Beetle Larva, Judy Gallagher
Like all beetles, click beetles start as eggs, hatch into larvae that resemble worms, pupate, and then become adult beetles. The larvae, sometimes called wireworms, can live for as long as four years before becoming adults. They live in soil or rotten wood or under bark. Some larvae are pests, feeding on corn, potatoes or grain. They locate food by following carbon dioxide trails that are created by plant material in the soil. Other species' larvae help control insects by preying on their larvae. Some are fungi specialists.
Neopristilophus aethiops, Judy Gallagher
There are almost 1000 named species of click beetles in North America. Most of our local click beetles are small and dark and can be found on vegetation, under bark or at lights at night.
Lacon discoideus, Judy Gallagher
Some click beetles are more colorful, although one would have to look closely to see that. This click beetle, Lacon discoideus, is less than 1/3 inch long.
Eyed Click Beetle, Judy Gallagher
By far the most charismatic of our local click beetles is the 2 inch long Eyed Click Beetle. I usually spot them when they land on me. They're hard to miss with those striking eye markings.
Eyed Click Beetle, Judy Gallagher
But when they're on bark, they blend in pretty well despite their size. Eyed Click Beetle larvae feed on wood-boring beetle larvae, so are helpful as a biological control. Adults don't eat much at all. I hope you'll all see one of these astonishing beetles this season.
View all of Judy’s Observations from Meadowood articles here.