# Eleodes gigantea

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Species of beetle

Eleodes gigantea Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Clade: Pancrustacea Class: Insecta Order: Coleoptera Suborder: Polyphaga Infraorder: Cucujiformia Family: Tenebrionidae Genus: Eleodes Species: E. gigantea Binomial name Eleodes gigantea Mannerheim, 1843

***Eleodes gigantea*** is a species of desert stink beetle or darkling beetle[1] in the family [Tenebrionidae](/source/Tenebrionidae).[2][3][4] 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.[5]

They typically have a smooth black [elytron](/source/Elytron) and like other species of *[Eleodes](/source/Eleodes)*, when frightened they secrete [benzoquinone](/source/Quinone)[6] and upturn their bodies to spray it. The secretion is orange in color and has a strong odor that causes the eyes to water.[7]

*[Eleodes gigantea meridionalis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eleodes_gigantea_meridionalis&action=edit&redlink=1)* have been found in the [La Brea Tar Pits](/source/La_Brea_Tar_Pits)[8] and some of the earliest reports of the species date back to 1918.[5] They are most active during sundown.[7]

*Eleodes gigantea*

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Braun, Jenna; Westphal, Michael; Lortie, Christopher J. (September 2021). ["The shrub *Ephedra californica* facilitates arthropod communities along a regional desert climatic gradient"](https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.3760). *Ecosphere*. **12** (9): e03760. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2021Ecosp..12E3760B](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021Ecosp..12E3760B). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1002/ecs2.3760](https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fecs2.3760).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-gbif_2-0)** ["*Eleodes gigantea*"](http://www.gbif.org/species/8666817). *[Global Biodiversity Information Facility](/source/Global_Biodiversity_Information_Facility)*. Retrieved 2021-09-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-bugguide_3-0)** ["*Eleodes gigantea* species Information"](https://bugguide.net/node/view/878658). *BugGuide.net*. Retrieved 2021-09-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Bousquet2018_4-0)** Bousquet, Yves; Thomas, Donald B.; Bouchard, Patrice; Smith, Aaron D.; et al. (2018). ["Catalogue of Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) of North America"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5799738). *ZooKeys* (728): 1–455. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2018ZooK..728....1B](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ZooK..728....1B). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3897/zookeys.728.20602](https://doi.org/10.3897%2Fzookeys.728.20602). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [5799738](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5799738). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [29416389](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29416389).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_5-1) Blaisdell, FE (1918). ["Studies in the tenebrionid tribe Eleodiini. No. 4 (Coleop.)"](https://mbd-db.osu.edu/uploads/ref_work/publications/pdf_file/file/7eda7236-da3b-45e8-8d24-c8652b997971/29636.pdf) (PDF). *Entomological News*. **29**: 380–387. Retrieved September 19, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** 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"](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10886-009-9712-7). *Journal of Chemical Ecology*. **35** (11): 1302–1308. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2009JCEco..35.1302H](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009JCEco..35.1302H). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s10886-009-9712-7](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10886-009-9712-7). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [19936835](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19936835).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_7-1) Emerton, J. H. (1921). ["Notes on Canadian and Arctic spiders"](https://doi.org/10.1155%2F1921%2F36012). *Psyche: A Journal of Entomology*. **28** (5–6): 147–148. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1155/1921/36012](https://doi.org/10.1155%2F1921%2F36012).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Invertebrate Collections"](https://tarpits.org/research-collections/tar-pits-collections/invertebrate-collections). *La Brea Tar Pits & Museum*.

## Further reading

- Johnston, M. A. (2016). "Redefinition of the *Eleodes* Eschscholtz subgenera *Tricheleodes* Blaisdell and *Pseudeleodes* Blaisdell". *Annales Zoologici*. **66** (4): 665–679. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3161/00034541ANZ2016.66.4.018](https://doi.org/10.3161%2F00034541ANZ2016.66.4.018). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [90125600](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:90125600).

## External links

- Media related to [Eleodes gigantea](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Eleodes_gigantea) at Wikimedia Commons

Taxon identifiers Eleodes gigantea Wikidata: Q108624223 GBIF: 8666817 NCBI: 2682788 Open Tree of Life: 6250391

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