Identification
Scientific Name:
Eleodes sp.
Common Names:
Darkling beetle, nocturnal ground beetle

Classification
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Tenebrionidae
Genus: Eleodes
Species: sp.

 

Habitat
Darking beetles can be found in desert or semidesert regions all over the world. They burrow under stones, bark and leaf litter. Some species even move through sand, " swimming " with their legs.

Profile
With more than 15 000 known species, darkling beetles are one of the most common members of the beetle, or coleopteran, community. In North America alone, there are no less than 1 400 species of this hardy and elusive insect, which is particularly well adapted to the harsh living conditions in deserts.
 
Most darkling beetles are black or brown, but on close inspection, their forms and textures make them every bit as intriguing as their more colourful relatives.
 
These beetles are characterized by an extremely hard carapace, generally coated with several layers of a waxlike substance that prevents the water from evaporating from their bodies.
 
The darkling beetles that inhabit the most torrid deserts can withstand temperatures of 50 ¡ C. They have long legs that keep their bodies at a safe distance from the burning sand and enable them to move at top speed. Many are excellent burrowers and can bury themselves in the sand in a flash to escape the scorching sun.
 
The great majority of these insects are scavengers. In nature, they are quite content to feed on dried or rotting plant residue. Man has made many a darkling beetle's day by storing vast quantities of grain products. The best known is the Tenebrio molitor, whose larva is the infamous yellow mealworm.
 
Each in its own way, the various species of darkling beetle demonstrate remarkable resourcefulness in ensuring their survival in a hostile environment. If disturbed, they assume a head down and tail up position and, like skunks, emit a foul-smelling liquid that is enough to discourage all but the most determined predators.
 
Others, like the Zopherus, require so little food that some believe that they can go a whole year without eating.In Mexico, semi-precious stones are glued on the carapace of these hardy little beetles, which are worn by women as broaches. Living, breathing jewellery!

Sticking an entomological pin through a darkling beetle can be an unnerving experience. It's as if the insect were made of metal. Sometimes so much pressure has to be applied that the pin bends before it pierces the carapace.
  

In Africa, some darking beetles inhabiting the Namib Desert drink by raising their abdomen and letting the water vapor in the air condense on their carapace. Tiny droplets form and trickle down to the head of the beetle, that quickly absorbs them.
  

Certain darkling beetles never actually drink. They metabolize water in their bodies from the food they ingest. They are capable of creating water molecules from flour -- a dry product if ever there was one.