Thursday, April 14, 2011

Eyed Click Beetle

I have never seen one of these before…but I would have loved having one as a kid.

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Jim asked me to check for fuel leaks when he started his ‘28 Buick. When I walked around the front of the car I spotted this little guy.  It’s a couple of inches long…has a hard shell and spots like big eyes…but that is not it’s head.

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I took a leaf and gently nudged it along trying to get it to move outside so it wouldn’t get run over or stepped on. It immediately rolled over on it’s back.

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So I tried to roll it back over. Normally a beetle is in trouble when on it’s back….not this one….with a click it popped several  inches in the air and landed a foot or so away. What a surprise.

So if you see this little cutie

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Give it a gentle nudge to roll him on his back and see what happens.

5 comments:

  1. What a hilarious bug. Love the big "eye" spots and the fact that it rolled over to play dead.

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  2. What a funny little critter. I'll bet you jumped a bit when he popped up.

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  3. The "eyes" on these beetles are interesting, but the physics involved in their energy multiplying click mechanism is astounding.

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  4. Saw this today for the first time. Kittery, Maine.

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