The adult common click beetle has a length of between 6 and 9 mm (0.24 and 0.35 in) and a width of between 1.8 and 2.8 mm (0.07 and 0.11 in). The head and pronotum are bluntly pointed and the antennae are as long as the total length of the head and pronotum. The front edge of the pronotum is brownish ginger, and the whole pronotum is covered by fine puncture marks. The abdomen is brownish black, the wing covers reddish brown tinged with yellow, and the antennae and legs are pale reddish brown. The pronotum and wing covers are covered in dense, short greyish hairs. The larva is known as a wireworm and lives in the soil. It is yellow, slender, stiff and leathery, and grows to a length of about 20 mm (0.8 in). The centre of the mandible has a small tooth for gnawing.