Darkling Beetle
Common Name: Darkling Beetle Scientific Name: Eleodes sp.
Order: Coleoptera
Range: Species occur throughout the temperate and tropical regions but this genus is found in the southwestern United States and Mexico.
Diet: Darkling Beetles feed on decaying plant matter and wood, roots, grains, nuts, etc. The larvae live underground.
Reader Rail Information: In the Rocky Mountain region these beetles are erroneously called stinkbugs (which in reality are members of the true bugs, a different order of insects, and not beetles) for the habit of secreting a noxious chemical. Members of many tenebrionid (darkling) beetles will stand on their head and excrete these substances in self-defense. They get their common name from their dark, somber colors and the habit of being active at night. A large number of species are very well adapted to living in desert regions and can survive on dried plant material and collect dew on their bodies for drinking.
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