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Could you ID this beetle for me?
January 31, 2010
I found this guy in a limb fallen from a tree in my side yard. I live in Orange county, NY. I’m not sure of the tree species but it is a hard wood. the beetle is about 1.5 inches long and has very distinctive black and white markings.
I also found round head wood borers in the same wood. The pictures are pretty good, hope you can help me out.
John Rankin
Orange countu, NY
Eyed Elater
Hi John,
This is a Click Beetle known as an Eyed Elater.
Dark headed worm-like bug with legs
December 6, 2009
Hello Bugman, I was wondering if you might be able to help me determine what kind of worm or bug this is. I looked through your website but can’t seem to find anything similar to what I’ve found lying on my bathroom and kitchen floor a few times over the last couple weeks. I live in the Southern California city of San Bernardino. The bug is a thin, dark-headed worm like insect with what appears to be four small legs closer to the head of the body. The body is a light tan color, almost transparent-looking. I have found them lying on the floor, usually already dead. We have pine trees, little vegetation, and mostly dirt in our backyard and our next door neighbors have swimming pools. The closest thing I have found on the Internet seems to be the midge fly larvae. Coul d this be it? Thanks for your help!
Volo
San Bernardino, Southern California
Wireworm
Dear Volo,
This is the larva of a Click Beetle, and it is known as a Wireworm.
Tropical click beetles
November 9, 2009
This click beetle arrived on my verandah the other day. Even after more than 50 years in the tropics I had not seen it before. It was almost 2″ long. 200feet elevation and 600 feet from the sea.Semi residential area with a lot of trees.
JohnK
St.Lucia West Indies
Click Beetle
Hi JohnK,
Since we have a train to catch to get to work, we haven’t the time to research a species for your lovely Click Beetle. Perhaps one of our readers can supply a species name.
Update from Karl
Hi Daniel:
I am fairly certain that this click beetle belongs to the genus Chalcolepidius (Elateridae: Agrypninae); probably C. validus. The species is endemic to the Lesser Antilles south of Guadeloupe and parts of northeastern South America. I couldn’t find an easy link to a reference photo, but if you go to the ‘Scielo Brazil’ website you will find an excellent document that provides a good synopsis for the genus and this species; as well as a photo (look for Figure 83). Regards.
Karl
Why do these two creatures hang out with each other; GREEN JUNE BEETLES AND EMPEROR BUTTERFLY ?
August 23, 2009
I have seen in the past several weeks of August both the green june beetle and the emporer (hackberry Monarch) Butterfly hanging out with other in groups on several of our trees. Why are these two insects drawn to each other? What are they doing?
Also there is a third beetle that I have never seen before either. What is it? It is large and scary looking but seems to not be welcomed by the green junebug and butterlflies but still tries to hang out in the area that they are. I saw only the one new beetle at 6:30 in the evening.
Curious T-Beau
Gatesville, Texas
Sap Feeders: Hackberry Emperor and Green June Beetles
Dear T-Beau,
These insects are all feeding on sap that is oozing from the tree. Perhaps the tree was injured or perhaps there are boring insects that are causing sap to ooze. Emperor Butterflies in the genus Asterocampa as well as many other butterflies do not strictly take nectar from flowers. According to BugGuide, the Hackberry Emperor, Asterocampa celtis: “Adults take sap, fluids from dung, carrion, etc. Like the Tawny Emperor, very fond of taking sweat from humans.“ Regarding the Green June Beetle, Cotinis nitida, BugGuide indicates adults eat: “Pollen; ripening fruits, especially peaches; and the fruit and leaves of many shrubs.” Your unidentified beetle is an Eyed Elater, Alaus oculatus, and BugGuide indicates: “Adults may take some nectar and plant juices.” Your photos document an interesting gathering of insects at a shared food source and it is wonderful since sap is not indicated as a food for either the June Beetle or the Eyed Elater.
Sap Feeders: Eyed Elater, Green June Beetle and Hackberry Emperors
Black Beetle
July 26, 2009
I’m wondering if you can help me identify this. It was probably a little over an inch long. It was in my driveway, I live in Southern New Jersey not too far from the coast.
Suzann
New Jersey
Eyed Elater
Dear Suzann,
Congratulations on being selected Bug of the Month for August 2009, though your letter will not be posted live until August 1. This is an Eyed Elater, Alaus oculatus, a large distinctive species of Click Beetle. Click Beetles get their name from their ability, when they find themselves on their back, to snap their body at the joint, propelling themselves into the air sometimes for quite a distance, and flipping around to land on their feet. According to BugGuide, the Eyed Elater is found in “Eastern and central North America–widespread. South Dakota east to Quebec, south to Texas, Florida.“ BugGuide also indicates that “Adults may take some nectar and plant juices. Larvae are predatory, eating grubs of wood-boring beetles like cerambycids (longhorns)” and “Eggs are laid in soil. Larvae predators of beetle larvae in decaying wood, especially hardwoods. Pupation is in unlined cell underground or in rotting wood. Adults come to lights.“ The eyespots of the Eyed Elater act as a protection against predators like birds which may think the beetle is actually a snake. We have been getting numerous requests for the identification of Eyed Elaters this summer.
Flying Bug
July 19, 2009
I have recently been finding this bug in my house. Have found it in Bathrooms and bedroom, usually crawling but has wings and flies if you go to grab it.
Approx. .25-.50 inches long. It is just a bit bigger then a grain of rice. Light brown / tan in color.
Mike M.
Woodstown, NJ (Rural Area)
Tobacco Wireworm
Hi Mike,
This is a species of Click Beetle in the family Elateridae. It looks like a good match to the Tobacco Wireworm, Conoderus vespertinus, which we located on BugGuide. The North Carolina State University website has a page with information on the Tobacco Wireworm which also feeds on corn and potatoes and is considered an agricultural pest. The Organic Gardening Practices website has a photo of the larva which does the damage as well as listing susceptible plants as “Potato, strawberry, brassicas, beans, beets, carrot, lettuce, onion, and tomato, also ornamentals, including, anemone, carnation, dahlia, gladioli, and primula.”
Well-camoflaged Beetle
Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 9:57 AM
Hello, A friend and I were birding at Lake Ramapo State Forest in New Jersey ( about 25 miles from NYC) when we spotted this insect, about 3 inches long, clinging to the bark of a large deciduous tree. It had speckling on its back and underside, and most notably huge false eyes on its back, the like of which I’ve only seen before on certain butterflies and moths. Our best guess is that it is a beetle, but neither of us had ever seen a similar one before.
We would love to know what it is!
Dawn
Northern New Jersey
Eyed Elater
Hi Dawn,
We have never really thought of the Eyed Elater as being camouflaged because of those enormous eyespots that make it look like a snake to many birds or other predators. We are sad we did not make the Eyed Elater, which is a large Click Beetle, the Bug of the Month for June, but we make select it for July.
1 June 2009, 7:44 PM
Four years ago on 9 July 2005, we discovered an unusual beetle in a spider web. We supposed it to be an Elaterid or Click Beetle, but it had feathered antennae. Eventually Eric Eaton contacted an expert, Dr. Art Evans, identified it as a Euthysanius species. This was Dr. Art Evans conclusion at the time: “The following excerpt is from our upcoming field guide for CA beetle s: At least five species of Euthysanius are found in California. The males of Euthysanius lautus (15.0-19.0 mm) (Plate 111) are reddish-brown with grooved elytra and feathery, 12-segmented antennae . They are found under the bark of pines (Pinus) and are attracted to lights throughout southern California. Adult females (up to 35.0 mm) (Plate 112) have very short elytra and lack flight wings, exposing most of the abdominal segments. They are found crawling over the ground.” Well, this afternoon, we found another specimen on our screen door.
Arboreal Click Beetle
We took several images of the Click Beetle to post. When the Click Beetle is on its back, it snaps back to an upright position, but only propelling about an inch or two into the air.
Arboreal Click Beetle
The beetle is about an inch long. We are also quite impressed with the mandibles on this specimen. Though it didn’t do any damage, it tried to discourage us from handling it by biting. BugGuide identifies the genus as Arboreal Click Beetles.
Arboreal Click Beetle
Black and white???
Sat, May 30, 2009 at 5:37 PM
I found this bug on me the other day when I was down in the woods…I live in Pennsylvania so it didnt surprise me to find a bug on me but when I took a closer look I realized I had NEVE%R seen this bug in my life. I googled it and couldnt find any information that was relevant.
Kyle Monaghan
Lancaster, PA
Eyed Elater
Hi Kyle,
The Eyed Elater is a large distinctive Click Beetle, Alaus oculatus, found in the Eastern and Central portions of North America according to BugGuide.
grey and white and black!
Thu, May 7, 2009 at 7:56 PM
I live in Central Florida, and was walking into a burger king in New symrna beach florida (central east coast) and i looked down and spotted this bug looking right back at me. went in to use the bathroom and came back and he was still there, in the same spot
April Diamond
Florida, US
Eyed Elater
Hi April,
Your letter is so amusing. This Eyed Elater was not really looking back at you. It just appears to be looking back at you. What you think are eyes are just eyespots. These eyespots help to discourage predators, especially birds. The birds see the large “eyes” and think a far larger creature is at hand, possibly a snake. Eyed Elaters are Click Beetles that can right themselves if they are on their back by snapping their bodies, propelling themselves into the air, and flipping to land right side up.
Saturday 18 April 2009, 10 PM
We went to the grocery store to buy a steak to eat with the four edible morels that sprouted under our carob tree between the Digitalis. We we went out to pick the morels, we noticed the silhouette of a large beetle on the screen door. We have never seen such a large beautiful black Click Beetle before in Los Angeles. We captured the beetle and measured it at a whopping 1 1/8 inches, and we tried unsuccessfully to photograph it.
Click Beetle
It is dark and we have to manually focus, and the beetle was moving fast. Furthermore, the batteries are low and we didn’t buy more at the market. After taking four blurry images, we put the Click Beetle in the refrigerator to cool down and hopefully slow its metabolism. We tried to identify this beauty on BugGuide, and we believe it may be in the genus Lanelater. It looks startlingly like Lanelater sallei, but that species is from the Gulf States. A pdf on the genus Lanelater that we located online mentions another species from Arizona, Lanelater schottii, and BugGuide has an image of that species as well. Can our beetle be Lanelater schottii? We plan to buy new batteries tomorrow and taking some better images by daylight. While photographing this Click Beetle on the kitchen table, we turned it on its back several times. It can right itself in one or two tries. It only flips about 2 inches in the air.
Click Beetle
We chilled the Click Beetle and got a clearer image, but we hope to get new batteries and shoot it again tomorrow morning.
Click Beetle
Update: Sunday 19 April 2009, 2:04 PM
We kept the Unknown Click Beetle in the refrigerator overnight, and it paid off. We managed to get numerous images before the beetle became too active.
Unknown Click Beetle
We have decent shots of both the dorsal and ventral view.
Unknown Click Beetle
The spines at the tips of the thorax are quite prominent. The heat has set in in LA and we are expecting highs of 95º today and tomorrow. There were countless beetles and moths at the porch light.
Unknown Click Beetle
This Click Beetle is large and very black. Now that we are certain we have good photo documentation, we are releasing our pretty Click Beetle and waiting for Eric Eaton or another reader to assist us in the proper identification.
Unknown Click Beetle
Beetle from Cloud forest in Ecuadorian Andes
Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 8:46 PM
We just got back from Milpe in Ecuador (elevation 1500 meters) and came across this beautiful beetle. Can you ID?
BTW. We saw an almost identical Scorpion bug in the Amazon as the one noted in Thailand. I am attaching pic. Amazing how they can be found in areas so far away from each other.
Mtnchk
Milpe Ecuador
Click Beetle: genus Semiotus
Dear Mtnchk,
We not be able to ever get you a definitive species identification on your beetle, but first we need to start with the family. We are not sure if your beetle is a Jewel Beetle (AKA Metallic Wood Boring Beetle) in the family Buprestidae, or a Click Beetle in the family Elateridae. Our first thought was a Buprestid because of the coloration, but the thoracic area has us inclined to speculate that this is an Elaterid. Click Beetles get their common name from their ability to snap their bodies at the junction of the thorax and abdomen. If the beetle finds itself on its back, this ability allows it to right itself by snapping its body against the hard ground, propelling the beetle high into the air and producing an audible clicking sound. Most North American Click Beetles are drab in coloration, but some tropical species are brightly colored. We hope one of our expert contributors will be able to at least narrow the family and perhaps identify the species.
Tailless Whipscorpion
Also, thanks for including your Ecuadorean example of a Tailless Whipscorpion.
Update: from Eric Eaton
Hi, Daniel:
It is indeed a click beetle, in the genus Semiotus. The whole genus is quite colorful!
Eric
Dear Daniel,
This is fantastic. I really appreciate your quick and thorough response. What a great website you have and I have actually given you a very positive rating as a new website for “Stumble upon” where I was when I came upon your website. I hope this gives you many more hits which lead to some financial gains- you certainly deserve it!
Mtnchk (Rebecca
Update:
Hi Daniel
It goes by the common name ‘Cucuya’ in Ecuador and it is a click beetle (family Elateridae); probably Semiotus illigeri. It occurs in Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia and Ecuador. Semiotus is a large neotropical genus with 31 representatives in Ecuador. Images are hard to find but the ‘Natural History Museum of Los Angeles’ has posted a report on the genus that includes numerous distribution maps and excellent color plates (look for Figure 227). Regards.
Karl
http://www.nhm.org/research/publications/Contributions_in_Science/CS514.pdf
