# Dusky wireworm (*Agriotes obscurus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/dusky-wireworm  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

The dusky wireworm (Agriotes obscurus) is a species in the family Elateridae, order Coleoptera. Recorded adults reach 8.75 mm in length.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | 8.75 mm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Recorded prey and predators

 Recorded predators: Cucumber green spider (*Araniella cucurbitina*), Allagelena gracilens (*Allagelena gracilens*). Each pair is recorded by at least two datasets compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/, CC0 1.0).

## Introduced range

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 1 country. Introduced: United States. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Arthropoda
- class: Insecta
- order: Coleoptera
- family: Elateridae
- genus: Agriotes
- species: *Agriotes obscurus* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Elater obscurus*

## Common questions

### How big is the dusky wireworm?

An adult dusky wireworm measures 8.75 mm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### Is the dusky wireworm an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the dusky wireworm as introduced in 1 country: United States, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

### What kind of animal is the dusky wireworm?

The dusky wireworm (Agriotes obscurus) belongs to the family Elateridae in the order Coleoptera.

### What eats the dusky wireworm?

Animals recorded preying on the dusky wireworm include cucumber green spider and allagelena gracilens. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

## Sources

- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products](https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/), CC0 1.0, 0.11. Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference.
- [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group.
- [TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844), CC BY 4.0, 2.0. Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844

Cite as: Dusky wireworm (Agriotes obscurus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dusky-wireworm