Click Beetle Larva - Family: Elateridae | Species unknown
With spring slowly but surely returning to Toronto, we revisit an inhabitant of backyards everywhere once the weather warms up. I found this healthy Wireworm while digging the garden and placed it on my glove for a closer look. This isn't the first time such an insect has navigated a glove, but the contrasting is certainly much better compared to last time. Although this individual is very wriggly and flexible, this young Beetle has a relatively strong exoskeleton. This is to say that it's not a soft-bodied as it appears. If you feel one for yourself and gently hold it between two fingers, you may be surprised at how rigid it actually is, and yet smooth. Nevertheless, it has a ways to go before arriving at its fully fortified and armored adult form, and that can take years of development depending on the specie. Reports are mixed: some sources say 1 year, some 2 years, leading all the way to 6 years. Observation of a specie's lifespan might be tough outside of controlled, long-term studies, but it's clear that the species of this insect branch are well-adapted to the subterranean world and can easily navigate it. Their thin form allows them to move through soil with ease and they are propelled using their legs and downward-turned rearmost abdomen segment.
After getting a closer look at this Wireworm, it was returned to the soil and mulch where it was found. However, I didn't bury it to reconceal it. Instead, the observation continued, and after a short journey, this young Beetle found an opening and pushed through! It curved and wriggled forth, returning to the depths. Although the underground has its share of predators and dangers, and while they may be at the mercy of digging insectivores such as skunks, at least Wireworms can situate and feed on tree roots and decaying plants without having to worry about birds. That is, unless they come to the surface and make themselves noticed. If they can however, find enough sustenance to get them through their larval stages and then pupation, a Click Beetle adulthood is theirs to enjoy. Like with many insect species, the adult form's primary function is to disperse and reproduce; the bulk of its life is in its larval stage. However, adult Click Beetles are quite active and they easily manage the shift to an above ground lifestyle. Depending on the specie, their diet shifts from root fluids to nectar, pollen and soft-bodied insects. I wish I knew which specie this larvae was so that I could comment further, but many species appear with the exact features shown by today's find.
Pictures were taken on June 3, 2023 with a Google Pixel 4. For other Beetle larvae which burrow and take comfort in the underground's wealth, consider the Zophobas Superworm, a larva of a particular Darkling Beetle, as a comparative example.
