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Subject: Dunes Darkling Beetle, Eleodes suturalis, in head-stand posture Location: Mescalero Sands, Chaves County, New Mexico Stock Number: 06-24676 Comment: These large and robust beetles provoke a lot of visitor questions at parks like White Sands National Monument, where they seem to wander aimlessly in the dunes. The beetles are flightless, and rely on chemical defenses to thwart would-be predators. As in this photo, beetles that feel threatened will raise their rear ends and eject a noxious substance. Such behavior has led to the common names Stink Beetle, Stink Bug, and Clown Beetle. The family is Tenebrionidae, the Darkling Beetles. |
