Eastern Eyed Click Beetle

 

Sometimes all I have to do it sit still outside and a blog subject lands next to me. Like this eastern eyed  click beetle. It's about an inch and a half long. It has spots on top that look like eyes. They aren't, although they might fool a would-be predator into thinking the beetle is much larger, like proportionate to the big eye spots. (Which are just spots.) This is known as "self mimicry' wherein a body part mimics another. And the click? That part of the beetle's common name comes from its trick of snapping itself upright with an audible clicking sound if it has been turned on its back or just needs to get away fast. The click and the snap can startle -- long enough for a beetle in danger to escape. Click to enlarge.

With a pink zinnia for color.