Snapping Beetles

  We got a strange beetle down here. It is called the Click Beetle

"Click beetles (family Elateridae), sometimes called elaters, skipjacks, snapping beetles, or spring beetles, are a cosmopolitan family characterized by the unusual click mechanism they possess. There are a few closely-related families in which a few members have the same mechanism, but all elaterids can click. A spine on the prosternum can be snapped into a corresponding notch on the mesosternum, producing a violent "click" which 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 7000 known species. 

Click beetles can be large and colorful(some are brilliant metallic green), but most are small to medium-sized (<2 cm) and dull. The adults are typically nocturnal and phytophagous. In hot weather, they are prone to enter people's houses at night if entries or windows are left opened. The larvae of a few species, called wireworms, can be serious pests of corn and other grains, especially after a field has been left fallow..."