Eleodes osculans explained

Eleodes osculans, the wooly darkling beetle or woolly ground beetle, is a common insect in coastal southern and central California in wooded areas or chaparral, and in Baja California.^[1] As a stink beetle of genus Eleodes, its easily observed defensive posture is to raise its hind end and secrete an unpleasant odor. E. osculans has a length of 12-16 mm and is the only known darkling beetle species with reddish-brown hair covering most of its black exoskeleton.^{[2] [3]} It is similar to Eleodes nigropilosa and Eleodes littoralis, which have darker hair.

Further reading

• ; ; ; (eds.) 2002: American beetles. Volume 2. Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, Florida. limited preview

Notes and References

1. Bousquet . Yves . Thomas . Donald B. . Bouchard . Patrice . Smith . Aaron D. . Aalbu . Rolf L. . Johnston . M. Andrew . Jr . Warren E. Steiner . 2018-01-15 . Catalogue of Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) of North America . ZooKeys . en . 728 . 1–455 . 10.3897/zookeys.728.20602 . 1313-2970 . 5799738 . 29416389. free . 2018ZooK..728....1B .
2. Book: Will . Kip . Field Guide to California Insects . Gross . Joyce . Rubinoff . Daniel . Powell . Jerry A. . . 2020 . 9780520288744 . Oakland, California . 244.
3. Web site: Species Eleodes osculans - Wooly Darkling Beetle . April 13, 2022 . BugGuide.