The beetle Ampedus cinnabarinus is a member of the family Elateridae known as Click Beetles – so called because when they bend their heads and thorax (the part of the body next to the head) forward, it hooks a spinelike structure into a notch on the underside of the thorax. The release of the spine propels the beetle into the air with a clicking noise, an action which startles would-be predators and allows escape, as well as it being able to right itself if it has fallen on its back.
These pollen-feeding beetles are found in deciduous forests. The females have specialized glands which produce a scent (a pheromone) to attract males and, after mating, lay eggs in dead and decaying wood. On hatching, the emerging larvae predate on other beetle larvae living in the wood.
