'Snapping beetle' definitions:
Definition of 'snapping beetle'
(from WordNet)
noun
Able to right itself when on its back by flipping into the air with a clicking sound [syn: click beetle, skipjack, snapping beetle]
Definition of 'Snapping beetle'
From: GCIDE
- Snapping \Snap"ping\, a. & n. from Snap, v. [1913 Webster]
- Snapping beetle. (Zool.) See Snap beetle, under Snap.
- Snapping turtle. (Zool.) (a) A large and voracious aquatic turtle ({Chelydra serpentina}) common in the fresh waters of the United States; -- so called from its habit of seizing its prey by a snap of its jaws. Called also mud turtle. (b) See Alligator snapper, under Alligator. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'snapping beetle'
From: GCIDE
- Elater \El"a*ter\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? driver, fr. ? to drive.]
- 1. (Bot.) An elastic spiral filament for dispersing the spores, as in some liverworts. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Zo["o]l.) Any beetle of the family Elaterid[ae], having the habit, when laid on the back, of giving a sudden upward spring, by a quick movement of the articulation between the abdomen and thorax; -- called also {click beetle}, spring beetle, and snapping beetle. [1913 Webster]
- 3. (Zo["o]l.) The caudal spring used by Podura and related insects for leaping. See Collembola. [1913 Webster]