Pest Profile

Wireworms are larvae of click beetles. They resemble the larvae of false wireworms, but have shorter legs and antennae. Both are yellowish-brown, shiny and slender, with hard bodies and legs on the first three body segments behind the head. Wireworms feed primarily on planted seed, but they also injure small plants by burrowing into underground portions of the stem. Historically, problems occur when sorghum follows sod, but now problems are common in fields under continuous cultivation. Some species require several years to mature, so the problem is perennial in certain fields, especially those with loose or sandy soils that facilitate larval movement.