253 LIFE STORIES OF AUSTRALIAN INSECTS, 



CLICK BEETLES OR SKIP JACKS. 



Family Elateridae. 



(Plate 3i, Figs. (S, 9 and 10.) 



The adult is very like a homely Buprestid beetle, 

 but is a little more linear in form. The antennae 

 are more decidedly serrate, and the prothorax is 

 not so broad, but is longer and there are two pro- 

 longations into spines, one on each side of the pro- 

 thorax at the posterior end. Ventrally, there is a 

 prothoracic spine in the middle, which fits into a 1 

 corresponding cavity of the mesothorax, and this 

 spine is capable of moving freely in and out of the 

 cavity, and aids in jerking the body from a few 

 inches to some feet away. It is owing to this habit 

 of jerking itself into the air that the popular name 

 "skip jack" beetle has arisen. The colour is usually 

 brown and the general outline is smooth. 



The larva is the "wire worm" (Plate 31, Fig. 

 10). It is long, narrow, and cylindrical, with three 

 pairs of strong, horny legs, and capable of quick 

 movement in the soil. The integument is hard and 

 polished looking, yellow to brown in colour. It 

 is said to live up to two or three years. It feeds 

 on roots of plants and on decaying vegetation. 

 Some are said to be carnivorous, others to emit 

 phosphorescence. 



