Wikipedia

Click beetle

Elateridaeorclick beetles(or "typical click beetles" to distinguish them from the related familiesCerophytidaeandEucnemidae,which are also capable of clicking) are afamilyof beetles. Other names includeelaters,snapping beetles,spring beetlesorskipjacks.This family was defined byWilliam Elford Leach(1790–1836) in 1815. They are acosmopolitanbeetlefamily characterized by the unusual click mechanism they possess. There are a few other families ofElateroideain which a few members have the same mechanism, but most elaterid subfamilies can click. A spine on theprosternumcan be snapped into a corresponding notch on themesosternum,producing a violent "click" that can bounce the beetle into the air.[3]Clicking is mainly used to avoid predation, although it is also useful when the beetle is on its back and needs to right itself. There are about 9300 known species worldwide,[4]and 965 valid species in North America.[5]

Click beetles
Temporal range:Triassic–Recent
Click beetle adults and larvae (wireworms)
Left:Wheat wireworm(Agriotes mancus)
Right:Sand wireworm(Horistonotus uhlerii)
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Elateriformia
Superfamily: Elateroidea
Family: Elateridae
Leach,1815
Subfamilies[2]

Agrypninae
Campyloxeninae
Cardiophorinae
Dendrometrinae
Elaterinae
Eudicronychinae
Hemiopinae
Lissominae
Morostomatinae
Negastriinae
Oestodinae
Omalisinae[1]
Parablacinae
Physodactylinae
Pityobiinae
Plastocerinae
Subprotelaterinae
Tetralobinae
Thylacosterninae

Synonyms

Ampedidae
Campylidae
Cavicoxumidae
Ludiidae
Monocrepidiidae
Pangauridae
Phyllophoridae
Plastoceridae
Prosternidae
Pyrophoridae
Synaptidae

Ampedus nigricollis
Melanotus leonardi
Click beetle inJapan
Alaus oculatuson a potato plant in anOklahomagarden

Etymology

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Leach took the family name from the genusElater,coined by Linnaeus in 1758. In Greek, ἐλατήρ means one who drives, pushes, or beats out.[6]It is also the origin of the word "elastic", from the notion of beating out a ductile substance.[7]

Description and ecology

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Some click beetles are large and colorful, but most are under two centimeters long and brown or black, without markings. The adults are typicallynocturnalandphytophagous,but only some are of economic importance. On hot nights they may enter houses, but are not pests there. Click beetlelarvae,calledwireworms,are usuallysaprophagous,living on dead organisms, but some species are serious agricultural pests, and others are active predators of other insect larvae. Some elaterid species arebioluminescentin both larval and adult form, such as those of the genusPyrophorus.

Larvae are elongate, cylindrical or somewhat flattened, with hard bodies, somewhat resemblingmealworms.The three pairs of legs on thethoracicsegments are short and the lastabdominal segmentis, as is frequently the case inbeetlelarvae, directed downward and may serve as a terminal proleg in some species.[8]The ninth segment, the rearmost, is pointed in larvae ofAgriotes,DalopiusandMelanotus,but is bifid due to a so-called caudal notch inSelatosomus(formerlyCtenicera),Limonius,HypnoidesandAthousspecies.[9]Thedorsumof the ninth abdominal segment may also have sharp processes, such as in the Oestodini, including the generaDrapetesandOestodes.Although some species complete their development in one year (e.g.Conoderus), most wireworms spend three or four years in thesoil,feeding on decaying vegetation and therootsof plants, and often causing damage to agricultural crops such aspotato,strawberry,maize,andwheat.[10][11]The subterranean habits of wireworms, their ability to quickly locate food by followingcarbon dioxidegradients produced by plant material in the soil,[12]and their remarkable ability to recover from illness induced byinsecticideexposure (sometimes after many months),[13]make it hard to exterminate them once they have begun to attack a crop. Wireworms can pass easily through the soil on account of their shape and their propensity for following pre-existing burrows,[14]and can travel from plant to plant, thus injuring the roots of multiple plants within a short time. Methods for pest control includecrop rotationand clearing the land of insects before sowing.

Other subterranean creatures such as the leatherjacket grub ofcrane flieswhich have no legs, andgeophilidcentipedes,which may have over two hundred, are sometimes confused with the six-legged wireworms.[8]

Evolution and taxonomy

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The oldest known species date to theTriassic,but most are problematic due to only being known from isolated elytra. Many fossil elaterids belong to the extinct subfamilyProtagrypninae.[15]

Approximately 20 subfamilies are included in the Elateridae, considered typical of beetles in the superfamilyElateroidea;[16]authorities have moved genera from related families (e.g."false click beetles"to the Thylacosterninae[17]).

Thylacosterninae

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Authority: Fleutiaux, 1920

  1. BalgusFleutiaux, 1920
  2. CussolenisFleutiaux, 1918
  3. PterotarsusGuérin-Méneville
  4. ThylacosternusGemminger, 1869

Other selected genera

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Notes

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Lateral aspect of a typical member of the Elateridae. Just below the base of the wings the "clicking" apparatus is visible in silhouette, with the "peg" or "process" in contact with the raised slot or "cavity" into which it slips to force the impact when required.
  1. ^Kusy, Dominik; Motyka, Michal; Bocek, Matej; Vogler, Alfried P.; Bocak, Ladislav (2018-11-20)."Genome sequences identify three families of Coleoptera as morphologically derived click beetles (Elateridae)".Scientific Reports.8(1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 17084.Bibcode:2018NatSR...817084K.doi:10.1038/s41598-018-35328-0.ISSN2045-2322.PMC6244081.PMID30459416.
  2. ^Robin Kundrata, Nicole L. Gunter, Dominika Janosikova & Ladislav Bocak (2018) Molecular evidence for the subfamilial status of Tetralobinae (Coleoptera: Elateridae), with comments on parallel evolution of some phenotypic characters. Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny 76: 137-145.doi:10.3897/asp.76.e31946
  3. ^How the click beetle jumps from the back!.Myrmecofourmis.fr on Youtube. 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-21.Retrieved3 December2015.
  4. ^Schneider, M. C.; et al. (2006). "Evolutionary chromosomal differentiation among four species ofConoderusEschscholtz, 1829 (Coleoptera, Elateridae, Agrypninae, Conoderini) detected by standard staining, C-banding, silver nitrate impregnation, and CMA3/DA/DAPI staining ".Genetica.128(1–3):333–346.doi:10.1007/s10709-006-7101-5.PMID17028962.S2CID1901849.
  5. ^Majka, C. G.; P. J. Johnson (2008)."The Elateridae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada: faunal composition, new records, and taxonomic changes"(PDFexcerpt).Zootaxa.1811:1–33.doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1811.1.1.
  6. ^Wiktionary - "elater"
  7. ^Wiktionary - "elastic"
  8. ^abOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Wireworm".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 739.
  9. ^van Herk, W. (March 12, 2009)."Limonius: wireworm research site".Archived fromthe originalon June 7, 2011.RetrievedJanuary 22,2011.
  10. ^R. S. Vernon; W. van Herk; J. Tolman; H. Ortiz Saavedra; M. Clodius; B. Gage (2008). "Transitional sublethal and lethal effects of insecticides after dermal exposures to five economic species of wireworms (Coleoptera: Elateridae)".Journal of Economic Entomology.101(2):365–374.doi:10.1603/0022-0493(2008)101[365:TSALEO]2.0.CO;2.PMID18459400.
  11. ^William E. Parker; Julia J. Howard (2001). "The biology and management of wireworms (Agriotesspp.) on potato with particular reference to the U.K. ".Agricultural and Forest Entomology.3(2):85–98.doi:10.1046/j.1461-9563.2001.00094.x.
  12. ^J. F. Doane; Y. W. Lee; N. D. Westcott; J. Klingler (1975). "The orientation response ofCtenicera destructorand other wireworms (Coleoptera: Elateridae) to germinating grain and to carbon dioxide ".Canadian Entomologist.107(12):1233–1252.doi:10.4039/Ent1071233-12.
  13. ^W. G. van Herk; R. S. Vernon; J. H. Tolman; H. Ortiz Saavedra (2008). "Mortality of a wireworm,Agriotes obscurus(Coleoptera: Elateridae), after topical application of various insecticides ".Journal of Economic Entomology.101(2):375–383.doi:10.1603/0022-0493(2008)101[375:moawao]2.0.co;2.PMID18459401.
  14. ^Willem G. van Herk; Robert S. Vernon (2007). "Soil bioassay for studying behavioral responses of wireworms (Coleoptera: Elateridae) to inecticide-treated wheat seed".Environmental Entomology.36(6):1441–1449.doi:10.1603/0046-225X(2007)36[1441:SBFSBR]2.0.CO;2.PMID18284772.
  15. ^Kundrata, Robin; Packova, Gabriela; Hoffmannova, Johana (2020-06-26)."Fossil Genera in Elateridae (Insecta, Coleoptera): A Triassic Origin and Jurassic Diversification".Insects.11(6): 394.doi:10.3390/insects11060394.ISSN2075-4450.PMC7348820.PMID32604761.
  16. ^BioLib.cz: click beetles Elateridae Leach, 1815(retrieved 5 January 2025)
  17. ^Barbosa, F.F. (2016) Revision and phylogeny of the genusBalgusFleutiaux, 1920 (Coleoptera, Elateridae, Thylacosterninae). Zootaxa 4083(4): 451–482. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4083.4.1

References

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On theUniversity of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural SciencesFeatured Creatureswebsite:

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