Red-backed darkling beetle
The red-backed darkling beetle is a big black beetle with a red stripe right down the middle of its back. That stripe makes it easy to recognise. It lives in the open country of the American West.
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Fun facts
When it is in danger, it lifts its back end up into the air and squirts out a stinky liquid.
It is quite big for a beetle: a large male can be more than 3 centimetres long.
Its wing cases are flat, and the red stripe runs right down the middle where they meet.
Most asked questions about Red-backed darkling beetle
?Is the red-backed darkling beetle dangerous?
No. It cannot sting, but it can squirt a smelly liquid if you scare it.
?What does the red-backed darkling beetle eat?
Seeds. Both the beetles and their larvae eat plant seeds.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Eleodes suturalis
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Tenebrionidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Tenebrionidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Eleodes suturalis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by iNaturalist user: paloma. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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