click beetle
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (1)
- able to right itself when on its back by flipping into the air with a clicking soundSynonyms: click beetleskipjacksnapping beetle
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Elater \El"a*ter\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? driver, fr. ? to drive.]
1.(Bot.) An elastic spiral filament for dispersing the spores, as in some liverworts. [1913 Webster]
2.(Zo["o]l.) Any beetle of the family Elaterid[ae], having the habit, when laid on the back, of giving a sudden upward spring, by a quick movement of the articulation between the abdomen and thorax; -- called also click beetle, spring beetle, and snapping beetle. [1913 Webster]
3.(Zo["o]l.) The caudal spring used by Podura and related insects for leaping. See Collembola. [1913 Webster]