Click beetle 



A noisy-winged, inch-long click beetle flew 

 against the trunk of the old apple tree, landed, and 

 folded his broad, black, flying wings under their 

 hard covers. Now seeming to glare menacingly at 

 me were two velvety black eyes, rimmed with 

 white. But these "eyes" do not see; they are part 

 of a fearsome false face, as false as an Indian's war- 

 paint or mask, and are designed to terrify the 

 potential enemy. 



This beetle has no sting to discourage the 

 predator, and no powerful wings with which to 

 escape. But his endlessly staring eyes do scare 

 away birds; and in further self-protection he is 

 able to fling himself high in the air from a vulner- 

 able, upside-down position. 



The click beetle is usually found around old 

 trees and decaying stumps. The female places her 

 eggs in rotting wood, and soon they hatch into 

 yellowish-brown worms wire worms, they are 

 called, because they are slender and tough. 



There are many kinds of click beetles. The wire 

 worms of some live in the ground and feed on the 

 roots of plants, and this can mean ruin for a farm- 

 er's carefully cultivated crops. I. don't worry much 

 about this fact, though, because I know that the 

 other residents of the apple tree community birds, 

 opossums and skunks, for example will do away 

 with many beetles and worms before they've had a 

 chance to injure crops. 



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