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For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
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Photo#117550
Click Beetle - Prosternon medianus

Click Beetle - Prosternon medianus
Mt. Washington, Coos County, New Hampshire, USA
June 8, 2007

Images of this individual: tag all
Click Beetle - Prosternon medianus Click Beetle - Prosternon medianus

Moved
Moved from Prosternon.

Moved
Chatting offline with Hume Douglas we feel this is a Prosternon, maybe P. fallax (but I need to hunt down the features separating it from P. medianus)

Moved from Oxygonus obesus.

 
In Brown 1936 paper on Ludius fallax group
He only mention how the elytra are "very distincly whorled" for fallax, and indistincly to not whorled for medianus. Even in the description, there's no mention for the apex of the elytra. He does mention that the third antennal segment in smaller than every other species for medianus though. I think it would be medianus for me!

 
New images added
I posted a larger image and a second image of the same beetle in hopes it shows more detail. Here's a larger image on my Pbase site for non editors to see more detail.

One more down
Before we know it, you'll identify all the Elaterids that can be identified. Thanks Dennis!

 
I'm beginning to hope the rai
I'm beginning to hope the rain stops so I can get out into the field tomorrow. While I've always enjoyed the Elateridae, I'm beginning to loose my enthusiasm for looking at them! When I started I didn't think I would be able to feel comfortable with identifications from pictures, but I keep finding characters that give me the confidence to continue on. At some point the larval pictures need to go on an Elateridae larvae page to clear them out of the unknowns. No one is ever going to be able to do much with them.

 
Larval images moved to a page by themselves
You're waiting for rain to stop, and I'm waiting for the temps to go above freezing. I know how you feel, I'd much rather be outside.

 
Thanks for the larval page!
I think that makes things look less hopeless somehow and brings more order to the family.

Oxygonus obesus
The prominent pubescence, flaired lateral margins of the elytra, and truncate eltyral tips are all charateristic of this species. Based on comparison with the Wagner/Scott Collection material from Ontario, Canada.