Beetle

Name: Darkling Beetle
Scientific Name: Family Tenebrionidae

Basic Information:
Darkling Beetle is a common name for any one of several thousand species. They are found across the world in many different habitats, and even in your house. They often have black exoskeletons as adults. You might familiar with their mealworm larval form if you feed small reptiles at home. In the wild, birds, rodents, and reptiles all eat these little beetles.

Our beetles are from desert habitats and have specialized systems for collecting water from the atmosphere.

If you are an educator, you might want to look into science projects that raise mealworms into adult beetles.

Habitat Information:
Desert - Most people don't realize it, but desert environments still foster large amounts of life and biodiversity. Explore our desert habitat exhibits to truly appreciate the ways in which life has adapted itself for the shortage of moisture and extreme temperatures found in desert environments.

Darkling Beetles at Windaroo:
The beetles are found with many other insects in the arthropod zoo facility. You will find spiders, scorpions, millipedes, beetles, other insects, and even some worms (not artropods).

Related Animals:
Camel
Meerkat
Rattlesnake
Scorpion
A-Z Animal List