Click for

image of adult

by

UC - Davis

Adults:
The adult wireworms or "click beetles" are a yellowish brown color with a streamlined body tapering toward the rear. They have a joint at the thorax- abdomen giving them flexibility. The beetles are about 6-15 mm long. When on their back, they will Œclick¹ their abdomen on the ground to flip them in the air to right themselves, thus giving them their name, click beetle.

Click for

image of adult

by

Iowa State University

Eggs:
The small white spherical eggs are deposited in the soil. Egg masses may contain 20-40 or more individual eggs. The eggs are about 0.5 mm in size. The female will lay between 200 to 1400 eggs.

Click for

image of larvae

by

UC - Davis

Larvae:
The larvae have a slender, hard body about 3/4 to 1-1/2 inches (18-22 mm) in length. The chestnut brown larvae have many segments with 3 pairs of short legs near the head and have a notch at the end of the last segment. The larval stage can last from 3 to 7 years.

Click for

image of larvae

by

University of Kentucky

Pupae:
The wireworm folds its legs on the underside of the body and pupates in the soil. The pupae is white to shiny brown in color and 12-15 mm in length.