Western Eyed Click Beetle vs Mammoth Cave Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Western Eyed Click Beetle Mammoth Cave Beetle
Scientific Name Alaus melanops Xenotrechus condei
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Elateridae Carabidae
Size 25-40 mm 5-7 mm
Habitat Forests Caves
Diet Wood Feeders Omnivores
Regions Western North America United States
Conservation Least Concern Endangered

Western Eyed Click Beetle

The western counterpart to the eyed click beetle, with smaller, solid black eyespots. Found in old-growth forests.

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Did You Know?

Their predatory larvae are beneficial because they consume destructive wood-boring pest larvae.

Mammoth Cave Beetle

A rare troglobitic ground beetle known from caves in the Ozark region of Missouri. It is eyeless with greatly elongated appendages.

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Did You Know?

It was not discovered until 1987, despite extensive surveys of Missouri caves.