Common Click Beetle vs Larger Citronella Ant

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Common Click Beetle Larger Citronella Ant
Scientific Name Agriotes sputator Lasius interjectus
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Elateridae Formicidae
Size 6-8 mm 4-4.5 mm
Habitat Farmland Caves
Diet Root Feeders Root Feeders
Regions Europe, Western Asia Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Common Click Beetle

A small, uniformly brown click beetle that is one of the most common wireworm pests in European agriculture. Adults are often found on flowers and grasses in spring and early summer.

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Did You Know?

The clicking mechanism that gives the family its name involves a peg-and-groove structure on the thorax that stores and releases elastic energy.

Larger Citronella Ant

A subterranean yellow ant that emits a strong lemon-like odor when crushed. It lives entirely underground tending root-feeding aphids for honeydew.

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Did You Know?

These ants are rarely seen above ground except during mating flights, when winged reproductives emerge in large swarms.