Eleodes gigantea explained

Eleodes gigantea is a species of desert stink beetle or darkling beetle^[1] in the family Tenebrionidae. They can be found from San Francisco, California down to Tijuana, Mexico, however, they are more typically located in the lower half of California from Santa Cruz to San Diego.^[2]

They typically have a smooth black elytron and like other species of Eleodes, when frightened they secrete benzoquinone^[3] and upturn their bodies to spray it. The secretion is orange in color and has a strong odor that causes the eyes to water.^[4]

Eleodes gigantea meridionalis have been found in the La Brea Tar Pits^[5] and some of the earliest reports of the species date back to 1918. They are most active during sundown.

Further reading

• Redefinition of the Eleodes Eschscholtz subgenera Tricheleodes Blaisdell and Pseudeleodes Blaisdell. 2016. Johnston . M. A.. Annales Zoologici. 66. 4. 665–679. 10.3161/00034541ANZ2016.66.4.018. 90125600.

Notes and References

1. Braun . Jenna . Westphal . Michael . Lortie . Christopher J. . September 2021 . The shrub Ephedra californica facilitates arthropod communities along a regional desert climatic gradient . Ecosphere . 12 . 9 . e03760 . 10.1002/ecs2.3760 .
2. Blaisdell . FE . 1918 . Studies in the tenebrionid tribe Eleodiini. No. 4 (Coleop.) . September 19, 2024 . Entomological News . 29 . 380–387.
3. Holliday . Alison E. . Walker . Faye M. . Brodie . Edmund D. . Formica . Vincent A. . 2009-11-01 . Differences in Defensive Volatiles of the Forked Fungus Beetle, Bolitotherus cornutus, Living on Two Species of Fungus . Journal of Chemical Ecology . 35 . 11 . 1302–1308 . 10.1007/s10886-009-9712-7 . 19936835 .
4. Emerton . J. H. . Notes on Canadian and Arctic spiders . Psyche . 1921 . 147–148 . 10.1155/1921/36012 . free .
5. Web site: La Brea Tar Pits & Museum . Invertebrate Collections .