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Cucuya or Click Beetle from Ecuador and a Tailless Whipscorpion Too!!!

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

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Eyed Elater

Beetle
Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 4:51 AM
This rather large beetle / bug (while in flight) flew directly into my head, bounced off, and landed in the grass. Thankfully, neither of us suffered injury other than severe startle! I picked it up out of the grass, and after a few seconds rest on my palm, it flew off. What is the name of this beetle? Thanks.
Jay W
Eastern NC Pitt County

Eyed Elater

Dear Jay,
What a positively gorgeous photo of an Eyed Elater, Alaus oculatus, one of the Click Beetles, preparing to take flight. Your photo nicely depicts a defining characteristic of beetles which have two pairs of wings like most insects, but have the upper wings hardened into wing covers known as elytra. It is the soft under wings that are the flying wings. This is the second letter we have received with stunning images of an Eyed Elater this week and it makes us a bit sad we did not select it as the Bug of the Month. We are seriously considering making this strikingly attractive beetle the Bug of the Month for March. Thanks for you wonderful contribution.

Eyed Elater

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¶ Posted 07 February 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Eyed Elater

Big Eyed Click Beetle
Thu, Feb 5, 2009 at 7:25 PM
I found this large beetle today. I assume it is a Big Eyed Click Beetle? It may have been too cold out today for it to click and turn itself over.
Fred
Central Florida

Eyed Elater

Hi Fred,
You are correct. This is an Eyed Elater, Alaus oculatus, which is also called an Eyed Click Beetle. We are not certain why your individual didn’t “click” itself upright, but we do know that the larger Elaters are not as proficient at the clicking maneuver as are some of its smaller, less colorful relatives.

Eyed Elater

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¶ Posted 06 February 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Click Beetle

Unknown bug found in garden
Sat, Nov 8, 2008 at 1:26 PM
Hey bugman,
During the summer I found this odd bug in my garden during. I wasn’t bothering anything as far as I could tell. A few days later I was fixing a windmill on our property and found another one. I live in Prescott, Arizona, near 5000 ft. elevation.
David,
Prescott, Arizona

Click Beetle

Hi David,
This beautiful Click Beetle is in the genus Chalcolepidius and according to BugGuide, it is found in Arizona and Utah. Other than the generic family name Click Beetle, this beauty has no common name.

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¶ Posted 08 November 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Glowing Click Beetle

Unidentified Black bug
It is a black bug that was found in Freeport,Texas in a office building. The Bug has 6 legs and two antenna. The strange thing is that it has two glowing green dots behind it’s eyes. Attached are pictures. Thanks in advance

fire beetle texas Glowing Click Beetle

According to BugGuide, Click Beetles in the genus Deilelater are known as Glowing Click Beetles, but we have also seen them called Fire Beetles. In tropical countries, people wear them as living jewelry.

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¶ Posted 06 August 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Mystery Beetle, Possibly Click Beetle: Euthysanius species

While taking our morning walk in the canyon near downtown Los Angeles, we encountered a strand of spider silk stretched across the path. It was probably from one of the Araneas or Neoscona species that build enormous webs at night. Dangling from the silk was a shrouded insect. When we broke the silk to pass, out of curiosity, we decided to unwrap the insect. What we found was amazing on several levels. First, the beetle was alive, meaning the spider was anticipating a future meal. The beetle has a hard shell, is just over an inch long and is shaped like on of the Click Beetles, Family Elateridae. It is covered with hairs that shine gold in the sunlight. But those feathery antennae seemed out of character. We quickly turned to our guide books and could locate nothing remotely similar. We decided to trouble Eric Eaton thinking he could quickly identify this anomoly. Here is his response: “Wow! Cool:-) I would agree that it is probably a click beetle, but have never seen anything like it. I’ll try and forward this image to Arthur Evans and see what he says. Thanks for sharing! Eric” So, for the moment, our beetle remains a mystery.

beetle spiderweb top Mystery Beetle, Possibly Click Beetle: Euthysanius species beetle spiderweb bottom Mystery Beetle, Possibly Click Beetle: Euthysanius species

NOTE: Eric then wrote back with more information. L.A. Elaterid? “Here’s what my buddy Dr. Art Evans has to say about your beetle. CRAZY! Let it go if it is still alive. If it has died, then you can send it along, thank you:-) Eric”
And here is Dr. Art Evans conclusion: “The following excerpt is from our upcoming field guide for CA beetles: 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.”

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¶ Posted 09 July 2005 § ‡ Comments (1) °

Big Eyed Click Beetle or Eyed Elator

Help!
We have a 7th grade science project due Monday (05-09-05). We have this insect we would like to use in the project, but don’t have any idea what it is. Can you identify it?
Thanks,
Ben

eyed elater Big Eyed Click Beetle or Eyed Elator

Hi Ben,
This is one of the Click Beetles known as the Eyed Elator or Big Eyed Click Beetle, Alaus oculatus. Adults eat little and larva attack roots and small creatures in the soil. Click Beetles are so called because if they are turned on their backs, they quickly flex their body making a clicking sound and flipping in the air to right themselves.

Thank you so much for your help. Gotta finish that bug project. Love your website!
Ben

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¶ Posted 05 May 2005 § ‡ Comments (1) °

Eyed Elator

click beetle
Attached, photo of an “eyed” black and white beetle on the bark of an Arizona Ash tree, spotted (as it were) in Austin, TX on June 12, 2004. Perhaps an Eastern Eyed click beetle, Alaus oculatus?
Thanks for the great site, and service.
Jim

eyed elator ash Eyed Elator

The Eyed Elator is surely a handsome Click Beetle. The scientific name is Alaus zuniatus (we aren’t positive on the spelling of the species name), found in the southwest. Thanks so much for the photo Jim. Keep sending us beauties.