find a click beetle
April 6, 2010
Dear Bugman,
I can see that many folks find strange creatures, take a picture, and then ask you to identify the odd looking things.
Though I have used your site numerous times, I truly cringe at almost all of the photos. In fact, there are some, that I can not even bring myself to see. Having said that, I now homeschool three children, and in our studies it is extremely important that they grow to love nature. That includes the bugs. So, with great effort, I overcome my desire to scream and smash, and I gently capture the insects that roam around our home. We admire them and learn about them for a brief time and let them go again. This week, we have found a really nice big black Carpenter Bee! Your site helped us identify it.
So, with the greatest trepidation, I must ask for your help in the reverse. At some point in the past I had an encounter with a click beetle. It was startling, to say the least (remember, I shudder at all bugs), but interesting in how it flips over. I still live in Chandler Arizona USA where I met this click beetle. So now I get to my question….. Could you tell me where to look for another click beetle? My children would be ever so happy to see this little bug, which has also been romanticized in a children’s book by Eric Carle (which by the way is how I came to know what the bug was that I had encountered). Any ideas of where to look for these? Thanks in advance for any information you could share.
Michelle and her three kiddies
P.S. Chandler AZ is southeast of Phoenix, in the valley, and we live in a subdivision with lizards, geckos, black widows,lots of ants, but no scorpions (thankfully).
Dear Michelle,
Click Beetles are often attracted to lights, so you can try leaving the porch light on to see what arrives.