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Eastern Eyed Click Beetle

common

Eastern Eyed Click Beetle

Alaus oculatus

Habitat
Eastern North American deciduous woods with rotting hardwood logs
Body length
40 mm
Order
Coleoptera · Elateridae

Weird but real

Flip it on its back and a spring-loaded latch in its thorax snaps it into the air with an audible CLICK to right itself.

Why it's cool

It wears two giant fake eyes to bluff predators, then literally catapults itself skyward when grabbed — a beetle with a panic button.

Photographs

PXL 20220815 170738793 FL Cypress Creek Preserve Alaus oculatus commonly called the Eastern Eyed Click Beetle or eyed elater
RobertJBanach · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Alaus oculatus, eastern eyed click beetle, ID Confidence: 87
xpda · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source