Taxonomy and Biology of Click Beetles and Their Relatives
Elater was the genus name given by Carolus Linnaeus to what we now call the click beetles. This genus is also the grammatical root for the Family Elateridae, the Superfamily Elateroidea, and the Series Elateriformia. The Elateridae is the 9th most biodiverse family of Coleoptera with approximately 10,000 described species. The Elateroidea is the largest and most biodiverse superfamily in the Elateriformia, and Elateriformia is one of the largest taxa within the Coleoptera.
Project Elater developed from my basic interests in the Elateridae and will be ever-changing. These web pages are intended to provide an introduction to the taxonomy and biology of these beetles, including keys and images. Information on these pages comes from a variety of sources and links to other click beetle specialists are provided.
Copyright © 2002 P.J. Johnson