Eleodes osculans

Wooly darkling beetle
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Tenebrionidae
Genus: Eleodes
Species:
E. osculans
Binomial name
Eleodes osculans
LeConte, 1851
Synonyms
  • Amphidora osculans
  • Cratidus fuscipilosus
  • Cratidus ovipennis
  • Eleodes behrii
  • Eleodes intermedia

Eleodes osculans, the wooly darkling beetle or woolly ground beetle, is a common insect in coastal southern and central California in wooded areas or chaparral, and in Baja California. As a stink beetle of genus Eleodes, its easily observed defensive posture is to raise its hind end and secrete an unpleasant odor. E. osculans has a length of 12-16 mm and is the only known darkling beetle species with reddish-brown hair covering most of its black exoskeleton. It is similar to Eleodes nigropilosa and Eleodes littoralis, which have darker hair.