Arctic Click Beetle vs Arctic Water Bug

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Arctic Click Beetle Arctic Water Bug
Scientific Name Hypnoidus riparius Arctocorisa carinata
Order Coleoptera Hemiptera
Family Elateridae Corixidae
Size 4-7 mm 5-8 mm
Habitat Tundra & Arctic Tundra & Arctic
Diet Herbivores Detritivores
Regions Scandinavia, Iceland, Scotland, northern Russia, Arctic Canada Arctic Scandinavia, Finland, northern Russia, Siberia, Arctic Canada
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Arctic Click Beetle

A small, brown click beetle with a distinctive snapping mechanism that allows it to flip itself upright when overturned. Larvae are wireworms that live in tundra soil. Adults are found under stones and in low vegetation.

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Did You Know?

When flipped on its back, this beetle arches its body and snaps a spine on its thorax into a groove, launching itself into the air with an audible click.

Arctic Water Bug

A small aquatic bug with a flattened body and oar-like hind legs for swimming. The back has fine transverse lines. It inhabits cold tundra ponds and lakes, swimming actively even in near-freezing water.

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Did You Know?

Males produce sound by rubbing their front legs against their head to attract females, making them among the loudest animals relative to body size.