Chequered click beetle

Prosternon tessellatum · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Elateridae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Chequered click beetle
Photo: Line Sabroe, CC BY

The chequered click beetle is a 10 to 12 mm long beetle with a blackish-brown, hairy pronotum and striped elytra that have pale, silk-hairy gray-yellow to gold-shining spots. Adults appear from May to early August and feed on flowers, shrubs and low vegetation, while the larvae live in conifer stumps or humus and prey on cocoons of pine-tree lappet and pine sawfly. They are found in mountain and forest areas, dry edges, meadows, heathland, moors, dunes and gardens across Europe, Asia and the Nearctic region of North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

It grows to about 10 to 12 mm in length.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It lives in mountain areas, coniferous forests, dry forest edges, forest meadows, heathland, moors, dunes and gardens.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Adults feed on flowers, shrubs and low vegetation. Larvae live in conifer stumps or humus and prey on cocoons of pine-tree lappet and pine sawfly.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

The larvae develop in tree stumps of conifers or in humus, where they hunt other insect cocoons.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults are present from May through early August.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The species is widespread in Europe, Asia and the Nearctic region of North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

It resembles the smaller beetle Agrypnus murinus.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Chequered click beetle photo 2
Photo: Derek Winterburn, CC BY
Chequered click beetle photo 3
Photo: Y. Liu, CC BY
Chequered click beetle photo 4
Photo: Benjamin Carbuccia, CC BY
Chequered click beetle photo 5
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Questions people ask

When can I see chequered click beetles?

Adults are active from May to early August.

Source: Wikipedia

What do they look like?

They are 10 to 12 mm long with a hairy black-brown pronotum, striped elytra and pale silk-hairy gray-yellow to gold spots.

Source: Wikipedia

Where do they live?

They inhabit mountain and forest areas, dry edges, meadows, heathland, moors, dunes and gardens across Europe, Asia and North America.

Source: Wikipedia

What do the larvae eat?

Larvae live in conifer stumps or humus and eat the cocoons of pine-tree lappet and pine sawfly.

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 cropsBordered click beetleBordered click beetleDenticollis linearis

Sources

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

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 2026-10-22.

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