Elateridae or click beetles are a family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, spring beetles or skipjacks. This family was defined by William Elford Leach (1790–1836) in 1815. They are a cosmopolitan beetle family characterized by the unusual click mechanism they possess. There are a few other families of Elateroidea in which a few members have the same mechanism, but most elaterid subfamilies can click. A spine on the prosternum can be snapped into a corresponding notch on the mesosternum, producing a violent "click" that can bounce the beetle into the air. Clicking is mainly used to avoid predation, although it is also useful when the beetle is on its back and needs to right itself. There are about 9300 known species worldwide, and 965 valid species in North America.
Glowworm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They include the European common glow-worm and other members of the Lampyridae, but bioluminescence also occurs in the families Elateridae, Phengodidae and Rhagophthalmidae among beetles; as well as members of the genera Arachnocampa, Keroplatus and Orfelia among keroplatid fungus gnats.
Ignelater luminosus, known as the cucubano, is a species of click beetle native to the island of Puerto Rico. Cucubanos are often confused with fireflies, which are in a different family (Lampyridae), as they can also emit light from the thorax. Their paired prothorax light organs and single light organ on the anterior surface of the abdomen gives the appearance of two "headlights" and one "backlight", which it can turn off independently.
Monocrepidius is a genus of click beetles in the family Elateridae. The genus has often been cited as Conoderus, but of the two names for this genus published simultaneously in 1829, the one selected by the First Reviser under the ICZN was Monocrepidius, rendering Conoderus the junior synonym.
Agrypnini is a tribe of click beetles in the family Elateridae.
Agrypninae is a subfamily of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are at least 130 genera and more than 430 described species in Agrypninae.
The Pyrophorini are a New World taxonomic tribe within the Elateridae subfamily Agrypninae. Pyrophorini is a tribe of bioluminescent beetles, and includes such genera as Pyrophorus and Ignelater.
The Euplinthini form an accepted taxonomic tribe within the Elateridae subfamily Agrypninae.
The Oophorini form an accepted taxonomic tribe within the Elateridae subfamily Agrypninae.
Hemiopinae is a subfamily of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are at least four genera in Hemiopinae.
Lissominae is a subfamily of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are about 11 genera in Lissominae.
Oestodinae is a subfamily of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are at least two genera in Oestodinae.
Parablacinae is a subfamily of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are about eight genera in Parablacinae.
Physodactylinae is a subfamily of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are at least two genera in Physodactylinae.
Pityobiinae is a subfamily of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are at least two genera and two described species in Pityobiinae.
Subprotelater is a genus of click beetles in the family Elateridae, the sole genus of the subfamily Subprotelaterinae. There are at least two described species in Subprotelater.
Tetralobinae is a subfamily of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are about 7 genera and more than 20 described species in Tetralobinae.
Sinopyrophorus is a genus of bioluminescent hard-bodied clicking beetles in the superfamily Elateroidea, and is the sole member of the recently recognized family Sinopyrophoridae. The genus currently contains a single species, Sinopyrophorus schimmeli, which was described in 2019 from the subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests of western Yunnan, China.
Aeolus is a genus of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are more than 220 described species in Aeolus, found throughout the world.
Anaissini is a tribe of click beetles in the family Elateridae.
