Photo and text used courtesy Clemson University
Cooperative Extension Service.

Several species of wireworms damage corn in South Carolina.

Wireworms feed on the kernels when the corn is planted and on the roots when the seed germinates and starts to grow. Pupation occurs in the soil, and the new adults- known as "click beetles"- emerge during early summer. Eggs usually are laid in the soil, and the winter is passed in the larval stage.