A new Atlas of the Click-beetles of Great Britain and Ireland is now available, the result of many years of work by both amateur and professional recorders in the Click-beetle Recording Scheme.
Compiled by Howard Mendel, with help from the Biological Records Centre at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the new Atlas covers three closely related beetle families: Eucnemidae. Throscidae and Elateridae. But as Howard notes…
“This Atlas represents the accumulated efforts of hundreds of coleopterists and recorders over more than two centuries. Coleopterists, other entomologists, and general naturalists have contributed many thousands of hours to fieldwork, specimen identification and preparation, report writing and publication.”
The author has been interested in click-beetles for many years. His first provisional atlas to click-beetles was produced in 1988, with an update in 1990. This new atlas totally replaces its predecessors.
In total there are 84 species in Great Britain and Ireland. Distribution maps and vice-county tables separate records into three date classes: 19th century, 1900-1979 and 1980-2019. For a few species additional more recent records are shown where there have been significant discoveries since 2019.
Springing and clicking
As the name suggests, perhaps the most noticeable feature of adult click-beetles is their ability to spring into the air, often with an audible click. Alternative vernacular names include ‘skipjacks’, ‘spring beetles’, ‘blacksmiths’, ‘clickers’ and ‘snaps’.
Debate is ongoing as to why this behaviour evolved. A credible explanation is that it was originally a righting mechanism, important in an elongate beetle with short legs. But whatever its original purpose might have been, it is a useful means of predator avoidance.
Click-beetle larvae live in soil or in dead wood. Often there is an association with fungal decay. A small number of soil-dwelling species are agricultural pests, with the popular name of ‘wireworms’. However as a significant component of the soil entomofauna, the larvae play a part in soil formation and aeration, so their overall impact may be considered beneficial.
Click-beetles as habitat indicators
Click-beetles have special significance as indicators of high quality habitat. Although a few species are common and widespread, most are associated with a particular macro-habitat, such as wood-pasture, river shingle or sand dunes.
Often it is possible to predict the occurrence of commoner species at a site. But this is not the case for the rarer species, which may be absent from apparently ideal habitat. Management history and habitat continuity provide an explanation. Overall this makes click-beetles valuable indicators of a long history of sympathetic management and limited disturbance.
In these islands, more species associate with woodland than any other macro-habitat. The rarest saproxylic species are restricted to areas of woodland with a long and continuous succession of old trees. Royal forests, wooded commons and deer parks are classic wood-pasture habitats with a continuity of deadwood. Relict Caledonian pinewoods in the Scottish Highlands support a distinctive suite of specialist species.
Several genera of click-beetles live in the sand and single shingle beds of clean rivers in northern and western Britain and Ireland. At a micro-habitat level, the size and grading of sediments is important. Unfortunately elevated levels of nitrates and phosphates in the water quickly degrade the habitat.
Traditional hay meadows and saltmarshes have their own click-beetle associations. Finally, a small number of species specialise in coastal habitats, including hard-rock cliffs, land-slips and sand dunes.
Want to find out more about click-beetles?
Order the new Atlas online at the Field Studies Council shop.
Visit the Coleopterists Society of Britain and Ireland
Browse identification courses for beetles at at Field Studies Council field centres and online.