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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Elateriformia » Elateroidea » Click Beetles (Elateridae) » Agrypninae » Hemirhipini » Alaus

Genus Alaus

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Internet References · Works Cited

Black bug with big circles on it head - Alaus oculatus

seriously large click beetle - Alaus myops

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

No Taxon (Series Elateriformia)

Superfamily Elateroidea

Family Elateridae (Click Beetles)

Subfamily Agrypninae

Tribe Hemirhipini

Genus Alaus

Explanation of Names

Alaus Eschscholtz 1829

from Greek alaos (αλαος) 'blind'

Numbers

6 spp. in our area(1), dozens worldwide

Size

25-45 mm

Identification

Large, usually with prominent eyespots on pronotum (spp. compared here)

larvae of eastern spp. described in(2)

see also(3)

Range

A. oculatus e. NA (QC-FL to SD-TX)(4)

A. myops se. US (southern pine forests)

A. melanops w. NA (overlaps with A. oculatus in SD)

A. lusciosus AZ-TX-KS(5)

A. zunianus AZ

The West Indian A. patricius has been recorded from the Florida Keys(4)

Habitat

deciduous and coniferous forests; larvae in decaying hardwood or pine wood, esp. in decaying roots

Food

Larvae feed on larvae and pupae of various insects, esp. beetles

Internet References

Fact sheet (Woodruff 1999-2004)(6)

Works Cited

1.	Johnson P.J. (-2013) Elateridae of Canada and the Continental United States

2.	Larvae of Alaus myops, A. oculatus, Chalcolepidius porcatus, Hemirhipus apicalis and generic larval characterization... S.A. Casari. 2002. Iheringia, Sér. Zool. 92(2): 93-110.

3.	Systematics and phylogenetic analysis of Alaus Eschscholtz, 1829 (Coleoptera, Elateridae) S.A. Casari. 1996. Revta bras. Ent. 40(2): 249-298.

4.	A distributional checklist of the beetles (Coleoptera) of Florida. Peck & Thomas. 1998. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville. 180 pp.

5.	Checklist of the Elateridae of Mexico. Johnson, P.J. 2010. 2010. South Dakota State University, Brookings.

6.	University of Florida: Featured Creatures

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Stephen_WV, Mike Quinn, Maury Heiman, v belov, bmathison1972
Last updated 25 November, 2016 - 5:42pm

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