The Giant Click Beetle (Oxynopterus annamensis) is an insect in the Elateridae family of click beetles.
The Giant Click Beetle is black to reddish-brown. The male has distinctive feather-like antennae. The female has thin, toothed antennae. It has a prothorax (front thorax) that is shield-shaped with sharply pointed posteriolateral tips. The elytra (wing cases) are long and smooth, tapering to a point at the tail end. It has wings, but it is not a strong flyer. It has simple, hairless claws on the tarsal segments of its six legs.
It grows to about 2 centimetres (less than one inch) long. The female is larger than the male.
It is native to countries in tropical southeast Asia.
It is nocturnal.
The female Giant Click Beetle lays eggs in soil. The eggs hatch into larvae called wireworms, which are similar to grubs. The grubs feed on decaying plant matter, often food crops and leaf litter. The larvae pupate and metamorphose into adult beetles.
Location of photographs: Parc Zoologique de Paris in Bois de Vincennes, France
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM