Eastern Eyed Click Beetle

Alaus oculatus

The Eastern Eyed Click Beetle is a fun little bug that can jump high when it feels scared! It has big, beautiful eyes on its back that look like they are watching you.

Lebensraum: Forests

Aussehen

The Eastern Eyed Click Beetle is a large, sturdy beetle, typically black with distinct, prominent white-ringed black eyespots on its thorax, which are not real eyes. Its hard shell often has a slightly fuzzy texture, making it visually unique among common beetles.

ReichAnimaliaStammArthropodaKlasseInsectaOrdnungColeopteraFamilieElateridaeGattungAlaus

Eastern Eyed Click Beetle

Kategorie

Insekten

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

Despite their fierce appearance, adult Eastern Eyed Click Beetles are completely harmless to humans!

Its larval stage, called a wireworm, lives underground for several years before transforming!

The 'click' sound can be loud enough for humans to hear from a few feet away.

They use their fake eyespots to trick birds and other predators into thinking they are a bigger creature.

Besondere Fähigkeiten

Eastern Eyed Click Beetles can flip themselves upright by arching their back and 'clicking' a spine into a groove, which helps them escape predators.

Eastern Eyed Click Beetles have large, dark eyespots on their back that mimic bigger eyes, making them look more intimidating to frighten away enemies.

Eastern Eyed Click Beetles have a very tough exoskeleton that helps protect them from physical damage and many predator attacks.

Maße und Details

Flügelspannweite: 40-70 mm
Größe: 25-45 mm
Lebenserwartung: 30-60 Tage
Anzahl der Beine: 6

Ernährung und Fütterung

Adults eat sap, but the hungry larvae are underground hunters of other insect grubs!

Altersunterschiede: Adults feed on plant sap and nectar, while the larvae (wireworms) are predatory, hunting other insect larvae underground.

Hauptnahrung

tree sap
nectar
Japanese beetle larvae
June beetle larvae
wood-boring beetle larvae

Nahrungssuche

Foraging

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

eaten by

Hairy Woodpecker

Picoides villosus

Adult beetles can be caught and eaten by woodpeckers.

eats

Japanese Beetle

Popillia japonica

Larvae of the click beetle prey on the grubs of this invasive pest.

eaten by

Masked Shrew

Sorex cinereus

Shrews may unearth and consume click beetle larvae in the soil.

Merkmale

Gefleckt

Mit Flecken oder farblich abgesetzten Bereichen gezeichnet.

Einzelgänger

Einzelgänger leben den größten Teil ihres Lebens allein und interagieren mit Artgenossen nur zur Paarung oder zur Aufzucht der Jungen.

Farbenfroh

Farbenfroh beschreibt Organismen oder Objekte, die eine große Vielfalt an leuchtenden und deutlich erkennbaren Farben aufweisen.

Insektenfressend

Dieses Merkmal kennzeichnet Organismen, deren Nahrung hauptsächlich aus Insekten und anderen kleinen Wirbellosen besteht.

Wald

Waldlebensräume sind terrestrische Lebensräume, die von dichtem Baumbestand dominiert werden und eine große Vielfalt an Pflanzen- und Tierarten beherbergen.