Click Beetle - Lacon marmoratus - BugGuide.Net

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Elateriformia » Elateroidea » Click Beetles (Elateridae) » Agrypninae » Agrypnini » Lacon » Marbled Click Beetle (Lacon marmoratus)

Photo#18309

Copyright © 2005 knapperbill

Click Beetle - Lacon marmoratus

Geneseo, Henry County, Illinois, USA
May 25, 2005

I photographed this click beetle today and noticed what appears to be little hitch hiking mites right near the head and tail end of the beetle. Am I correct in this assumption? I didn't notice them until I downloaded the photo, so I enlarged the picture for sake of seeing them. Any comments?

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Contributed by knapperbill on 26 May, 2005 - 5:15pm
Last updated 23 December, 2017 - 6:38pm

Moved, must be L. marmoratus

Moved from Lacon.

… Blaine Mathison, 23 December, 2017 - 6:38pm

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Danosoma obtecta, i believe

often referred to as Lacon (Danosoma) obtecta, but treated separately in the guide

… v belov, 28 January, 2009 - 3:33pm

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The pattern of scales is wron

The pattern of scales is wrong for Danosoma obtecta.

… Dennis Haines, 28 January, 2009 - 4:44pm

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Click beetle.

This is a species of Lacon, one of the few easily recognizable genera of Elateridae:-) The heavy coating of scales, and the overall resemblance to tree bark help ID them.

… Eric R. Eaton, 31 May, 2005 - 8:23pm

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Lacon

That's what I originally thought, but the grey color threw me off a bit. All of the others that I have seen appear to be more brown in overall color. Thanks for the ID.

Bill

… knapperbill, 31 May, 2005 - 9:56pm

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hitch-hikers

I think you're probably right. The hitch-hiking practice is called phoresy, and mites that do it are termed phoretic mites. It's a means of dispersal for them, as they get taken places they couldn't go by themselves. I read somewhere that it's not necessarily a totally free ride: while they're riding, the mites may clean bacteria and parasitic fly eggs etc. off the surface, so the beetle might benefit from that (don't know if that's the case but it sounds plausible).
The pattern on the beetle looks interesting; hopefully someone can ID this one.

… Robin McLeod, 26 May, 2005 - 10:25pm

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