Figure 15.

Elaphrus fuliginosus Say. Why the great naturalist Thomas Say gave this eastern species the name fuliginosus (sooty) is not evident. It may refer to the mirrors on the elytra which gives the impression that the animals are dirty. Members of Elaphrus have the ability to produce stridulating chirps by rubbing rows of bristles on the dorsal surface of the abdomen against two areas of parallel ridges on the ventral surface of the elytra. The sound is produced when the beetle is under stress.