Click Beetles, Family Elateridae

Click Beetles, Family Elateridae Click beetles, as you might suspect, are named for the clicking sound they produce. These entertaining beetles belong to the family Elateridae. Description: Click beetles are usually black or brown, with some species bearing red or yellow markings. Most fall within the 12-30 mm range in length, though a few species can be considerably longer. Theyre easiest to recognize by shape: elongate, parallel-sided, with rounded front and hind ends. A click beetles pronotum has pointed or spiny extensions at the posterior corners, which fit snugly around the elytra. The antennae are almost always serrate in form, though some may be filiform or pectinate. Click beetle larvae are often called wireworms. Theyre slender and long, with shiny, tough segmented bodies. Wireworms can be differentiated from mealworms (darkling beetle larvae) by examining the mouthparts. In the Elateridae, the larval mouthparts face forward. The eyed click beetle, Alaus oculatus, bears two enormous false eyespots on its pronotum, most likely to deter predators. Classification: Kingdom – AnimaliaPhylum – ArthropodaClass – InsectaOrder – ColeopteraFamily - Elateridae Diet: Adult click beetles feed on plants. Most larvae also feed on plants, but they tend to prefer newly planted seeds or plant roots, making them a pest of agricultural crops. Some click beetle larvae inhabit decomposing logs, where they hunt other insects. Life Cycle: Like all beetles, members of the family Elateridae undergo complete metamorphosis with four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Females usually deposit eggs in the soil around the base of host plants. Pupation occurs in the soil or under bark, or in some species in rotting wood. Overwintering occurs in the larval and adult stages. Special Adaptations and Defenses: When stranded on its back, a click beetle has an unusual way of righting itself to flee from danger. The juncture between the prothorax and mesothorax is flexible, enabling the click beetle to do a backbend of sorts. This movement allows a special peg, called the prosternal spine, to fit into a catch or hold between the middle pair of legs. Once the peg is secured in the hold, the click beetle suddenly straightens out its body, and the peg slips into a mesosternal groove with a loud click. This motion hurls the beetle into the air at a speed of roughly 8 feet per second! Some species in the tropics have a special light organ which they use to communicate with potential mates. The click beetles light burns much brighter than that of its cousin, the firefly. Range and Distribution: Click beetles live throughout the world, in nearly every terrestrial habitat except for the most extreme montane and arctic environments. Scientists have described over 10,000 species, including almost 1,000 in North America. Sources: Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity, by Stephen A. MarshallBorror and Delongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th Edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. JohnsonFamily Elateridae - Click Beetles, Bugguide.net. Accessed online June 4, 2012.Elateridae, South Dakota State University. Accessed online June 4, 2012.BioKIDS - Kids Inquiry of Diverse Species, Critter Catalog, Elateridae, click beetles. Accessed online June 4, 2012.

The Debra Lafave Case

The Debra Lafave Case Debra Lafave, a 24-year-old married middle school teacher in the Tampa, Florida, area was arrested in June 2004 and accused of having sex numerous times with one of her 14-year-old students. She was charged with four felony counts of lewd and lascivious battery and one count of lewd and lascivious exhibition. Here are the latest developments in the Debra Lefave case: Court Rules in Favor of Lafave Oct. 16, 2014 - The Florida Supreme Court has ruled in favor of former middle school teacher Debra Lafave in her appeal to end her probation early. The court ruled that a circuit judge was in his rights to reduce her original sentence. An appellate court had overturned Judge Wayne Timmermans ruling to end Lafaves probation early calling his decision an abuse of judicial power resulting in gross miscarriage of justice. After a year of being off probation, Lafave was again placed under supervision. The Supreme Court did not address the merits of the judges ruling, the panel wrote, Although we recognize the perceived inequality that the Second District sought to remedy, the district court lacked jurisdiction. Although Lafave is no longer on probation, she is still a registered sex offender who must check in with the sheriffs office twice a year or face felony charges. Previous Developments Court Hears Lafave AppealSept. 16, 2013The Florida Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in the case of a teacher convicted of having sex with a student who now wants her probation to be cut short. Debra Lafave is asking the states highest court to reinstate a 2011 ruling by a judge to end her probation four years early. Judge Reinstates LaFaves ProbationJan. 25, 2013Probation has officially been reinstated by a Florida judge for a former Tampa teacher who was convicted of having sex with one of her students. Debra Lafave must now finish the final four years and two months left on her sentence. Debra Lafave Ordered Back on ProbationAug. 15, 2012A former Florida middle-school teacher whose affair with a 14-year-old student shocked the nation, not to mention her then husband, has been ordered back on probation by a state appeals court. Debra Lafave was released early from probation last year by Judge Wayne S. Timmerman over the objections of the prosecution. Debra Lafave Probation Ends EarlySept. 22, 2011A former Florida middle school teacher who made national headlines by admitting she had sex with a 14-year-old student has been released from probation four years early. Debra Lafave, who is now a mother of twins, requested that Judge Wayne S. Timmerman terminate her probation early. Debra Lafave to Be Released From House ArrestApril 8, 2008Over the objections of prosecutors, a Florida judge has ruled that former teacher Debra Lafave, who confessed to having sex with a 14-year-old student, will spend her final three months of house arrest on probation instead. No Jail Time Ordered for Debra LafaveJan. 10, 2008It took a Florida judge 11 seconds to rule that conversations former teacher Debra Lafave had with co-workers at the restaurant where she worked was not a willful nor substantial violation of her probation. Debra Lafave Arrested for Probation ViolationDec. 4, 2007On the day her attorney was planning to file a motion asking that her home confinement sentence be reduced, Debra Lafave was arrested at the restaurant where she works for talking with a 17-year-old female co-worker. Debra Lafave Off the HookMar. 21, 2006Hours after a Marion County judge rejected a plea deal for Debra Lafave, the Florida middle school teacher accused of having sex with one of her 14-year-old students, state prosecutors dropped all charges against her to protect the victim in the case. Judge Reconsiders Debra Lafave Plea DealMar. 9, 2006Prosecutors joined Debra Lafaves attorneys in asking a Florida judge to reconsider their plea deal that will allow her to avoid jail time for having sex with one of her 14-year-old middle school students. Judge Rejects Debra Lafaves Plea DealDec. 9, 2005A Florida judge has rejected a plea bargain that would have allowed former teacher Debra Lafave to avoid any jail time for charges that she had sex with one of her 14-year-old students. Florida Child Molester Gets ProbationNov. 22, 2005In a blatant example of a double-standard in dealing with child molesters, a Florida judge has sentence former middle school teacher Debra LeFave to probation for having sex repeatedly with a 14-year-old male student. Debra Lafave Turns Down Plea DealJuly 18, 2005The middle-school teacher accused of having sex with a 14-year-old student has decided to turn down a plea bargain deal and opt instead of going to trial when she plans to use an insanity defense, according to her attorney. Teacher Who Had Sex With Teen Says Shes InsaneDec. 2, 2004Debra Lafave, the suspended Florida middle school teacher facing four felony counts of lewd and lascivious behavior for having sex with a 14-year-old student, will plead not guilty by reason of insanity, according to her attorney.