click beetles
(Melanotus spp.)
Overview • Description • Distribution • Taxonomy
Overview |
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Melanotus is a very large genus of click beetles. It occurs in Europe, Asia, southern Africa, North America, and Central America. It occurs throughout the United States, Mexico, and southern Canada. In the U.S. it is most common east of the Great Plains, and that is where most of the species occur. In the west it is much less common, there are far fewer species, and most of these occur in the southwest. In Minnesota it is common in the eastern half of the state but mostly absent in the western half. There are almost 800 Melanotus species worldwide, about 50 species in North America north of Mexico, and at least 7 species in Minnesota. |
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Adults are found from May to August on flowers and vegetation. In fall and winter, they are found under bark. The larvae, called wireworms, feed on the sprouting seeds and the roots of corn, small grains, grasses, and root crops. |
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Description |
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Melanotus are small to medium-sized beetles, 3⁄16″ to ½″ (5.2 to 12.6 mm) in length. They are hairy and usually uniformly yellowish-brown to dark reddish-brown. The head is covered with coarse pits (punctate) that are separated by less than the diameter of the punctures. On the underside, there are usually two distinct oblique ridges that converge in the middle of the frontal ridge. The antennae have 11 segments. Segment 1 is long and cylindrical, segment 2 is short and spherical, segment 3 varies, and segments 4 through 7 are triangular. The underside of the thorax does not have grooves to fit the antennae. Each wing cover (elytron) has 9 rows of punctured grooves. On each leg, there is a spur at the tip of the fourth segment (tibia). The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has 5 segments. The tarsal segments do not have lobes on the underside. The last segment has 2 claws at the tip. The claws have short, comb-like teeth (pectinate). |
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Distribution |
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Sources Revision of click beetles of genus Melanotus in America north of Mexico (Coleoptera: Elateridae). Quate, L.W., and S.E. Thompson. 1967. Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum, 121(3568): 1-83. |
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| 8/16/2023 | ||||
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 |
Melanotini | ||
Subordinate Taxa |
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bark click beetle (Melanotus corticinus) brick-red click beetle (Melanotus testaceus) chestnut click beetle (Melanotus spadix) chesnut-footed click beetle (Melanotus castanipes) click beetle (Melanotus abdominalis) click beetle (Melanotus adlbaueri) click beetle (Melanotus agilis) click beetle (Melanotus albatus) click beetle (Melanotus albicans) click beetle (Melanotus americanus) click beetle (Melanotus analis) click beetle (Melanotus andrewsi) click beetle (Melanotus argodi) click beetle (Melanotus auberti) click beetle (Melanotus bengalicus) click beetle (Melanotus brunnipes) click beetle (Melanotus candezei) click beetle (Melanotus cete) click beetle (Melanotus chiricahuae) click beetle (Melanotus clandestinus) click beetle (Melanotus concisus) click beetle (Melanotus crassicollis) click beetle (Melanotus cribricollis) click beetle (Melanotus cribriventris) click beetle (Melanotus cribrosus) click beetle (Melanotus cribulosus) click beetle (Melanotus dichrous) click beetle (Melanotus dietrichi) click beetle (Melanotus difficilis) click beetle (Melanotus dohrni) click beetle (Melanotus emissus) click beetle (Melanotus fortnumi) click beetle (Melanotus fulvus) click beetle (Melanotus fusciceps) click beetle (Melanotus gradatus) click beetle (Melanotus indistinctus) click beetle (Melanotus infaustus) click beetle (Melanotus insipiens) click beetle (Melanotus intermedius) click beetle (Melanotus laevis) click beetle (Melanotus lanceatus) click beetle (Melanotus lanei) click beetle (Melanotus legatus) click beetle (Melanotus loochooensis) click beetle (Melanotus mexicanus) click beetle (Melanotus mouldsi) click beetle (Melanotus opacicollis) click beetle (Melanotus paralellus) click beetle (Melanotus piceatus) click beetle (Melanotus pilosus) click beetle (Melanotus promtus) click beetle (Melanotus punctolineatus) click beetle (Melanotus regalis) click beetle (Melanotus rodriguezi) click beetle (Melanotus safraneki) click beetle (Melanotus seniculus) click beetle (Melanotus spenceri) click beetle (Melanotus spernendus) click beetle (Melanotus spevari) click beetle (Melanotus splendidus) click beetle (Melanotus splichali) click beetle (Melanotus staudingeri) click beetle (Melanotus taenicollis) click beetle (Melanotus tauricola) click beetle (Melanotus tenax) click beetle (Melanotus tenebrosus) click beetle (Melanotus umbilicatus) click beetle (Melanotus verberans) click beetle (Melanotus villosus) common click beetle (Melanotus communis) depressed click beetle (Melanotus depressus) grass-green click beetle (Melanotus prasinus) guided click beetle (Melanotus decumanus) Hyslop’s click beetle (Melanotus hyslopi) ignoble click beetle (Melanotus ignobilis) Leonard’s click beetle (Melanotus leonardi) long click beetle (Melanotus longulus) miscellaneous click beetle (Melanotus miscellus) morose click beetle (Melanotus morosus) pertinaceous click beetle (Melanotus pertinax) Sagittarian click beetle (Melanotus sagittarius) similar click beetle (Melanotus similis) trapezoid click beetle (Melanotus trapezoideus) |
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Synonyms |
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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.
Punctate
Dotted with pits (punctures), translucent sunken glands, or colored spots of pigment.
Tarsus
On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.
Tibia
The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot). The fifth segment of a spider leg or palp.
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Babette Kis |
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Melanotus sp. click beetle Melanotus sp., click beetle, on sawtooth sunflower, photographed on Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI on June 14, 2021. |
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Other Videos |
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| Beetle Melanotus: common large 🪲 Beetle Common Knowledge |
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About
Aug 30, 2022 Melanotus Beetle commonly found in India. These insects are a common site after the monsoon season. |
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| Melanotus Sprints On Wood Floor Wenn |
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About
Jul 30, 2023 Wenn |
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Visitor Sightings |
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| Babette Kis 6/14/2021 |
Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI Melanotus sp., click beetle, on sawtooth sunflower, photographed on Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI on June 14, 2021. |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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Created: 8/16/2023
Last Updated: