(Agriotes spp.)
Overview • Description • Distribution • Taxonomy
The larvae, called wireworms, live in the soil and consume the roots of plants. They attack a wide variety of agricultural crops, grasses, and other plants. Several Agriotes species are significant agricultural pests in the larval stage. They cause serious economic damage to crops of wheat, barley, oats, corn, tobacco, sugar beets, sugar cane, potatoes, sweet potatoes, strawberries, and most vegetables. |
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Description |
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Adults are ⅛″ to ⅜″ (4 to 10 mm) long. The body is long, narrow, oval, strongly flattened, and more or less parallel-sided. The upper parts are brown or black and are evenly covered with fine hairs. The front part of the body is loosely connected to the rear part, and it can be moved independently. The head is convex in front. The mouthparts are directed downward. The antennae are slender and weakly sawtoothed. They have 11 segments. The second segment is as long, or nearly as long, as the fourth segment. The plate covering the first segment of the thorax (pronotum) has sharp, backward pointing, rear angles. The wing covers (elytra) are grooved. The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has 5 segments. The last segment has 2 claws at the tip. The claws are smooth and do not have a tuft of hair at the base. |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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1/19/2024 | ||||
Taxonomy |
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Order |
Coleoptera (beetles) | ||
Suborder |
Polyphaga (water, rove, scarab, long-horned, leaf, and snout beetles) | ||
Infraorder |
Elateriformia | ||
Superfamily |
Elateroidea (click, firefly, and soldier beetles) | ||
Family |
Elateridae (click beetles) | ||
Subfamily |
Elaterinae | ||
Tribe |
Agriotini | ||
Subtribe | Agriotina | ||
Subordinate Taxa |
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apical click beetle (Agriotes apicalis) arcane click beetle (Agriotes arcanus) click beetle (Agriotes acuminatus) click beetle (Agriotes belfragei) click beetle (Agriotes bivittatus) click beetle (Agriotes caecus) click beetle (Agriotes cylindricus) click beetle (Agriotes espinosus) click beetle (Agriotes imperfectus) click beetle (Agriotes insanus) click beetle (Agriotes longithorax) click beetle (Agriotes oregonensis) click beetle (Agriotes pallidulus) click beetle (Agriotes rotundicollis) click beetle (Agriotes rufohumeralis) click beetle (Agriotes sagittus) click beetle (Agriotes sordidus) click beetle (Agriotes torquatus) click beetle (Agriotes vandykei) collared click beetle (Agriotes collaris) common click beetle (Agriotes sputator) Criddle’s click beetle (Agriotes criddlei) dark click beetle (Agriotes fucosus) detached click beetle (Agriotes avulsus) dusky click beetle (Agriotes obscurus) Hood’s click beetle (Agriotes hoodi) isabelline click beetle (Agriotes isabellinus) lined click beetle (Agriotes lineatus) muddy click beetle (Agriotes limosus) oblong-necked click beetle (Agriotes oblongicollis) opaque click beetle (Agriotes opaculus) pubescent click beetle (Agriotes pubescens) Quebec click beetle (Agriotes quebecensis) rusty click beetle (Agriotes ferrugineipennis) stable click beetle (Agriotes stabilis) tardy click beetle (Agriotes tardus) Thevenet’s click beetle (Agriotes thevenetii) western wireworm (Agriotes sparsus) wheat wireworm (Agriotes mancus) |
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Synonyms |
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Agrioadrastus Agriodrastus Agriodratus Agriotus Cataphagus Fructuarius Hemirhipus Lepidotus Pedetes Timecus Tinecoides Tinecus |
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Common Names |
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This genus has no common name. The common name of the Family Elateridae is click beetles, and it is used here for convenience. |
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Glossary
Elytra
The hardened or leathery forewings of beetles used to protect the fragile hindwings, which are used for flying. Singular: elytron.
Pronotum
The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.
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Babette Kis |
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Agriotes sp. click beetles Agriotes sp., click beetle, photographed on Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI on May 29, 2022. When threatened, these beetles load a peg latch, rapidly flex and accelerate up from the ground. They're on their back when they do this. This produces a clicking sound. |
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Other Videos |
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SCIENCE : agriotes spp lucio53 |
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About
May 17, 2013 Il ferretto si raddrizza. È un coleottero elateride che distrugge i raccolti allo stadio di larva. Qui si vedono le qualità altletiche dell'adulto.The click beetle back flips, showing his good fitness. As larvae it is a wasting pest. |
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Click Beetle (Elateridae) Demonstrating Click Mechanism Carl Barrentine |
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About
Jul 8, 2010 hotographed at the Rydell NWR, Minnesota (07 July 2010). |
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Babette Kis 5/29/2022 |
Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI Agriotes sp., click beetle, photographed on Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI on May 29, 2022. When threatened, these beetles load a peg latch, rapidly flex and accelerate up from the ground. They're on their back when they do this. This produces a clicking sound. |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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Created: 1/19/2024
Last Updated: