Western Eyed Click Beetle

Alaus melanops · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Elateridae

Also called: Western Eyed Elater

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Western Eyed Click Beetle
Photo: Matt Berger, CC BY

The Western Eyed Click Beetle measures about 20 to 30 mm in length (0.8 to 1.2 in). Larvae are predatory, while adults feed on nectar.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The name “melanops” comes from Greek and means black face or appearance.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Adults are 20 to 30 mm long, roughly 0.8 to 1.2 inches.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It lives in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

The larvae are predatory. Adult beetles feed on nectar.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It is native to North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 12 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Western Eyed Click Beetle photo 2
Photo: Shannon seesholtz, CC BY
Western Eyed Click Beetle photo 3
Photo: Koji Shiraiwa, CC BY
Western Eyed Click Beetle photo 4
Photo: Matt Berger, CC BY
Western Eyed Click Beetle photo 5
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Questions people ask

What do the larvae eat?

The larvae are predatory.

Source: Wikipedia

What do adult Western Eyed Click Beetles eat?

Adults feed on nectar.

Source: Wikipedia

Where is the Western Eyed Click Beetle found?

It is native to North America.

Source: Wikipedia

How big does this beetle get?

It ranges from about 20 to 30 mm (0.8 to 1.2 in).

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Elateridae)

Eastern Eyed Click BeetleEastern Eyed Click BeetleAlaus oculatusMottled dingy-brown click beetleMottled dingy-brown click beetleAgrypnus murinusDamages trees, gardens or cropsCommon brown click beetleCommon brown click beetleAthous haemorrhoidalisDamages trees, gardens or cropsChequered click beetleChequered click beetleProsternon tessellatumBordered click beetleBordered click beetleDenticollis linearis

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaus_melanops

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.