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Click Beetle
Click Beetle, common name for any adult beetle of the click beetle family, also known as snapping beetle, skipjack, and spring beetle. The click beetle is named for the clicking sounds it makes while righting itself from an upside-down position. It bends its head and prothorax backward and then straightens suddenly with a snapping motion, sometimes propelling itself as much as 15 cm (6 in) into the air. The slender, hard-coated larvae of the click beetle, commonly called wireworms, live in the soil or in dead wood. Some species are very destructive to the roots of plants, and fall plowing is considered the most effective way of controlling them. More than 800 species of click beetles are found in North America. The eyed click beetle, also known as the eyed elater, is one of the largest species in the United States. It is dark grayish with two large eyelike spots on the thorax. Some click beetles are bioluminescent and may be mistaken for fireflies.
Scientific classification: Click beetles make up the family Elateridae, order Coleoptera. The eyed click beetle is classified as Alaus oculatus.
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