Pests Beneficial Organisms Insect-Transmitted Diseases Management Options Other Resources Contact a Specialist Wireworms — Elateridae Wireworms are the larvae of beetles known as "click beetles." The name is derived from an ability the adults have: flip one over on its back and it can pop into the air with an audible "click" to right itself and escape. Wireworms live in soil and can cause very serious forms of damage to potatoes and other crops. Biology and Management Very long life cycle, with individual larvae often living 2-3 years in the soil.   Adults emerge and fly in the spring.   Potato crops following grain crops or weedy fallow are especially at risk.   Sampling for larvae is possible, but an effective method to predict damage risk has not been developed.   Damage can occur in spring to seed pieces, to tubers during bulking, and after vine kill (avoid in-field storage to prevent the latter type of damage).   Adult Limonius canus: most wireworms affecting potatoes in Eastern Washington are Limonius spp. Western Washington faces new European wireworms, Agriotes spp. Large wireworm larvae. These were taken from harvested tubers (see below). Wireworms are not normally found in damage like that shown at right. Typical wireworm damage. Note that wounds are healed. This kind of wireworm hole usually penetrates the tuber for only a fraction of an inch, and is often clean and straight.   Unusual damage — infested at harvest. Tubers are sometimes infested late in the season or after vine kill, and then larvae are usually still present, and tunneling can be extensive, unhealed, and filled with decomposing organisms. Live larva are present in the the tubers shown below.