Click beetle

Click beetles are beetles belonging to the Family Elateridae. These beetles are elongated and most are less that 3cm in length. There are over 9,000 species worldwide. Adults are herbivorous and the larvae, known as wireworms, feeding on decaying matter.

Click beetles are well known for their ability to fling themselves in to the air. This spectacular feat is a method used to avoid predators and right the beetle if it is on its back. Click beetles have a spine attached to the underside of the prothorax and fits in to a notch in the underside of the mesothorax. The adult beetle flexes muscles so the pin presses against the notch. When the force increases the peg is released with an audible click (hence the beetle's name) and the body of the beetle thumps into the ground and flings the beetle in to the air.

A photograph of an adult Click beetle.
Photograph by Noodle Snacks licensed under Creative Commons.

Other names for (or types of) Click beetle include:

• Elateridae
• Skipjack
• Wireworm

Related terms

• Coleoptera
• Coleopterist
• Darkling beetle
• Elateriform
• Goliath beetle
• Rhinoceros beetle
• Weevil

Related pages on this web site

• Beetles - Order Coleoptera

See other words beginning with C