Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
Superfamily Elateroidea (Click, Firefly and Soldier Beetles)
Family Elateridae (Click Beetles)
Subfamily Agrypninae
Genus Alaus
Species oculatus (Eyed Click Beetle)
Other Common Names
Eyed Elater, Eastern Eyed Click Beetle
Size
25-45 mm
Identification
Large size, huge eyespots on pronotum distinctive.
Range
Eastern and central North America--widespread. South Dakota east to Quebec, south to Texas, Florida.
Habitat
Deciduous/mixed forests and woodlands
Season
Much of year in south. Spring-summer farther north? Most frequently seen in spring and summer.
Food
Adults may take some nectar and plant juices. Larvae are predatory, eating grubs of wood-boring beetles like cerambycids (longhorns).
Life Cycle
Eggs are laid in soil. Larvae predators of beetle larvae in decaying wood, especially hardwoods. Pupation is in unlined cell underground or in rotting wood. Adults come to lights.
See Also
Alaus myops. A. myops is more slender, has more mottled gray elytra (not shiny with white specks), smaller eyespots.
