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Red-backed darkling beetle
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Tenebrionidae
Genus:	Eleodes
Species:	E. suturalis
Binomial name
Eleodes suturalis (Say, 1823)
Synonyms
Blaps suturalis Say, 1823 Eleodes texana LeConte, 1858

Eleodes suturalis is a species of darkling beetle. As currently known, it is endemic to the United States. Their range extends from South Dakota to Texas and west to southwestern Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and extreme southeastern Arizona, and probably into Mexico. Males measure 25–36 mm (1.0–1.4 in) and females 21.5–33.5 mm (0.8–1.3 in) in length. They can be easily identified by the distinctive red stripe which goes down the center of their flat elytra.

Ecology

Like other members of the genus Eleodes, when these beetles feel threatened they raise their abdomen into the air and secrete a foul smelling liquid. Both the larva and adults are herbivorous in nature, eating the seeds of various plants.

References

1. ^ Triplehorn, Charles A.; Thomas, Donald B. & Smith, Aaron D. (2015). "A revision of Eleodes subgenus Eleodes Eschscholtz (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)". Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 141 (1): 156–196. doi:10.3157/061.141.0111. S2CID 86220224.
2. "Species Eleodes suturalis". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 23 September 2021.

• Calkins, C.O.; Kirk, V.M. (eds.) 1973: Environmental Entomology, Volume 2, Issue 1.

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• Tenebrionidae
• Beetles of the United States
• Endemic insects of the United States
• Beetles described in 1823
• Taxa named by Thomas Say
• Tenebrionidae stubs