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- This page contains information and pictures about Click Beetles in Family Elateridae
that we
found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
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 - How and why Click Beetle click?
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- Click Beetles in family Elateridae are elongated form, with acute hind angles on
prothorax. They have a clicking mechanism enabling them to jump by sudden movement
of prothorax and hind body. Click Beetles have the prothorax loosely
joined to pterothorax. The clicking mechanism consists of a long prosternal process
(as shown in the above photo) which can be suddenly be snapped into a cavity in the mesosternum (the underside chest of abdomen) thus causing the prothorax to move quickly relative to the
hind body. In so doing produces the click sound and flicks the beetle into the air.
The Click Beetles use this trick to escape and flip-over when they are
upside down.
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- Elateridae is a large beetle family. They are usually brown or black in
colours and active at night. They are also some colourful species can be
found feeding on flowers during the day. Their antennae are slightly to
strongly serrate (saw-tooth shaped) and not clubbed.
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- Click Beetle adults can be found on leaves or bark surface. They usually
feed on plant shoots or tips.
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- Click Beetle larvae have the long and narrow worm-like body. They are
usually pale in colours with dark head. They live in rotting wood or in soil
feed on plant roots, with some species are predators.
Subfamily Agrypninae (Pyrophorinae)
- Brown Click Beetle
  - Agrypnus sp., body length 25mm
- The Click Beetle was found resting on a small Dogwood tree in Karawatha
forest during mid summer. We have more information about this beetle in
this page.
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- Mottled Predatory Click Beetle
 - Paracalais sp., body length 20mm
- The genus Paracalais is known to be predatory. We found this beetle once in Carbrook Wetland on Nov 2009. Please
click on here for more
information.
Subfamily Elaterinae
- Lycid-mimicking Click Beetle
 - Anilicus sp. body length 8mm
- Pictures were taken in Karawatha Forest Dentata Track on Oct 2007. The
beetle was found on a gum tree trunk. It dropped onto the ground after we
took some photos. Please check this page
for more information.
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- Arrowhead Click Beetle
- ? Elatichrosis sp. body length 8mm
- This click beetle is orange brown in colour with the body shaped as a thin
triangle in arrow head form. We found it once in Ford Road Conservation Area
on Nov 2010. Please check this page
for more infromation.
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- Small Black Click Beetle I
 - ? Melanotus sp. body length 8mm
- We found a few different small Click Beetles which were black in colour
and look very similar. This is one of those Small Black Click Beetles.
Please check this page for more
details.
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Subfamily Cardiophorinae
- Small Black Click Beetle II
 - ? sp. body length 8mm
- We found a few different small Click Beetles which were black in colour
and look very similar. This is another one of those Small Black Click
Beetles. Please check this page for
more details.
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- Small Black Click Beetle III
 - ? sp. body length 4mm
- We found a few different small Click Beetles which were black in colour
and look very similar. This is another one of those Small Black Click
Beetles. This one is really tiny. Please check this page for
more details.
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- Reference:
- 1. Insects
of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University
Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 637.
- 2. A guide to the Genera of Beetles of South Australia Part.4 -
Matthews, E.G. 1985, p6, plate 13.
- 3. Family ELATERIDAE - Australian Biological Resources Study, Australian Faunal Directory.
- 4. A Guide to the Beetles of Australia - George Hangay and Paul Zborowski, CSIRO PUBLISHING April
2010, p124.
- 5.
Northern
Territory Insects, A Comprehensive Guide CD - Graham Brown, 2009.
- 6. ELATERIDAE - Elateriformia (Coleoptera), J. F. Lawrence, A. M. Hastings, M. J. Dallwitz, T. A. Paine and E. J. Zurcher.
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