# What was this bug? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 3, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-bug/549015 "2010-08-03T15:14:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-bug/549015/1 "2010-08-03T15:14:45Z")
Very early this morning (about 3:30) I was awakened by a loud thumping noise in my house. I soon discovered that it was coming from a box (filled only with packing material) I had recently placed next to my garage door to take out on trash day. I picked up the box, and discovered the thumping was coming from an insect I had never seen before. It was about the size and shape of a firefly, but it was all brown. I picked it up in some toilet paper and was surprised at how strong it was when it struggled. I could see why the thumping on the box was so loud! [If you are in PETA please stop reading] I was also surprised at how hard it was to crush him, much harder than normal insects [/If you are in PETA please stop reading] I live in the Dallas area - any ideas on what kind of bug this could have been? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-bug/549015/2 "2010-08-03T15:26:18Z")
[Click Beetle?](http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=click+beetle&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=CTVYTOX7A4eWsgOFyN26Cg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQsAQwAA&biw=1267&bih=683) ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-bug/549015/3 "2010-08-03T15:31:28Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > [Click Beetle?](http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=click+beetle&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=CTVYTOX7A4eWsgOFyN26Cg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQsAQwAA&biw=1267&bih=683) Wow - first post! That’s it exactly! Is it something I need to be concerned about? ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-bug/549015/4 "2010-08-03T15:34:23Z")
This pic is very close to what I was looking at this morning: [http://challenge-services.co.uk/images/click%20beetle.jpg](http://challenge-services.co.uk/images/click%20beetle.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-bug/549015/5 "2010-08-03T15:36:58Z")
[Click beetle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_beetle)on Wikipedia. > [@](#): > > …rarely of economic importance. In hot weather, they may enter people’s houses at night if entries or windows are left opened but are not a pest. Harmless. Often tormented by children, who flip them over to watch them right themselves with their click. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-bug/549015/6 "2010-08-03T15:39:59Z")
It certainly has been hot here lately! Thanks guys! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-bug/549015/7 "2010-08-03T17:11:45Z")
I’m in North Texas, too, and we’ve been seeing more of these guys this year than ever before. (My kitten loves them - they can keep a cat occupied for a while.) Their larvae (wireworms) can be a problem, but they’d have to create quite an infestation first for the numbers to be high enough to cause much damage.