Metarhizium
Guides
Agriotes obscurus
dusky wireworm, obscure click beetle
Agriotes obscurus is a click beetle native to Europe and northern Asia that has become an established invasive pest in western North America since its accidental introduction around 1900. The larvae, known as wireworms, are significant agricultural pests that feed on tubers, seeds, and roots of numerous crops including potatoes, cereals, and vegetables. Adults are dark brown to black beetles 7–10 mm long, distinguishable from related species by their pronotum morphology and elytral ridges. The species has a prolonged life cycle of 2–4 years depending on temperature, with larvae passing through 8–13 instars before pupation.
Melanotus cribricollis
Melanotus cribricollis is a click beetle (Coleoptera: Elateridae) whose larvae are the dominant species of bamboo shoot wireworms, causing significant damage to bamboo forests in China. Larvae feed gregariously on fresh bamboo shoots, with up to nearly 20 individuals per shoot and damage rates reaching 80%. The species lives underground throughout its long life cycle, making prevention and control difficult. Research has characterized its innate immune system, including a β-1,3-glucan recognition protein gene that mediates defense against fungal pathogens such as Metarhizium pingshaense.