Agriotes sputator, commonly known as the spitting click beetle (sputator = spitter in Latin) or the common click beetle, is a species from the family Elateridae, mainly found in Europe. Its distribution range extends to parts of Western Asia like Turkey, Syria and Iran, as well as to China in the east. It has been also recorded in parts of north-western Africa. Further, it was accidentally introduced into eastern Canada. Its natural habitat is grassland, where the larvae (wireworms) live in the soil, feeding mainly on the roots of grasses and various other plants. Crop fields are often invaded and A. sputator is regarded as a serious agricultural pest.
From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is it venomous or poisonous?
We have no record of Spitting Click Beetle being toxic, poisonous or venomous. That is not proof that it is safe. Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.
Easily confused with
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Coleoptera
- Family
- Elateridae
- Genus
- Agriotes
- Species
- Agriotes sputator
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