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Subject: Clown Beetle (Darkling Beetle), Eleodes hispilabris Location: Mescalero Sands, Chaves County, New Mexico Stock Number: 06-24697 Comment: In America north of Mexico there are some 141 members of this genus. They share the common name Clown Beetle, for their habit of doing a handstand—lowering their head and raising their rear. To a predator, the hand-stand is anything but funny, since it is the first step in a chemical attack. I found Eleodes hispilabris and E. sutralis living side by side at both Mescalero Sands and at White Sands. Of the two, E. hispilabris is the one with the elytra more strongly tapered toward the rear. |
