Eyed Click Beetle
This gorgeous beetle was close to 4cm long and had spectacular (and huge) false eyespots!
Click beetles get their name from the loud clicking noise they make from forcefully snapping their bodies. Elaterids have a spine on the underside of their thorax. This spine fits into a notch on the second thoracic body segment between their legs. The beetle flexes its body so that the spine quickly releases, making an audible "click". This mechanism can catapult the beetle 4cm or higher into the air! Should a predator grab onto this beetle, the clicking mechanism can help eject the beetle from its tormentor's grasp!
''Alaus oculatus'' is a species of click beetle. It is 25–45 millimetres in length. It is found in Central and North America. Their diet consists of nectar and plant juice. The larva's diet consists of grubs and wood-boring beetles.
