Darkling Beetles: Spray acid, play dead

Darkling beetles (Family: Tenebrionidae) might not look like much at first glance, but this huge group of insects includes more than 20,000 species, all with their own unique life histories and adaptations. So, Dr. Margaret Thayer invited us to come learn more about them!
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Executive Producer, Creator, Host:
Emily Graslie
Producer, Director, Editor:
Sheheryar Ahsan
Production Assistant, Content Developer, Writer:
Raven Forrest
Production Support:
Vinícius Penteado
Special Thanks:
Petra Sierwald
Margaret Thayer
Crystal Maier
Maureen Turcatel
Robin Delapena
Jim Louderman
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Support for this video comes in part from National Science Foundation Grant No. 1802353
This episode is filmed on location at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois.
www.fieldmuseum.org

[@thebrainscoop]

Hi Friends!! Just a note, this interview was filmed March 13th, before the Field's temporary COVID-19 related closure was put in place. Hope you all are practicing social/physical distancing and taking care of yourselves!

[@Arashekhoeur]

Yeah no worries. My phone is at safe distance from my face. 🤭 Happy to hear your voice again on tube.

[@bradfordreed6175]

Thank you for mentioning how this was from the before-times. I'd love an update on your birdfeeder birdwatching.

[@thebrainscoop]

@@bradfordreed6175 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS: twitter.com/Ehmee/status/1259939209898573824?s=20

[@adawnab]

Man I love to spend the whole day looking at everything you guys have you have know idea

[@travelers8607]

I honestly love that you've made this video. I came across a HUNDREDS of these beetles last summer along the borders of Israel and Egypt, but struggled to find enough literature about the exact different species I was seeing... I did, however, manage to get a bunch of recordings and photos down of the various different species I kept seeing around. Would it be of any help to you or Dr. Thayer if I emailed you the footage and photos I managed to take?

[@JoaoPessoa86]

Don't forget to watch until "it still has brains on it"

[@Antenox]

Always

[@Ktulu789]

Siempre

[@mooncowtube]

This wasn't just an interview. It was a SHIRT-OFF. I think Margaret won, sorry.

[@thebrainscoop]

1000% agree

[@simon_far]

But Emily had the better beetle earrings, although Margaret's were pretty good too.

[@baikia777]

@@simon_far those earrings seems really heavy tho lol

[@KappaBooks]

We love field-specific scientist fashion

[@whifflingtit9240]

I'm studying to become a poultry scientist, lots of chicken related items to choose from!

[@effervescentsloth5132]

Whiffling Tit same! Let me know what you find-I’d love some poultry-centric fashion. :)

[@FS-qk5uq]

I need some fish specific fashion

[@uldNdN70]

Embroidered Honey Bees and other Pollinators would look nice

[@nothereanymore3941]

@@whifflingtit9240 Get a shirt that says I LOVE COCK

[@brandondiaz1118]

Im a simple man, i see a brainscoop video, i press like.

[@thielt01]

As a graduating Entomology student, there is nothing I want more than that sick shirt.

[@Coldpaws]

Not even Emily's baller earrings?

[@thielt01]

@@Coldpaws If they were a tad bit smaller , absolutely!

[@komencanto]

I actually did a project on darkling beetle larva when I was in 7th grade! Turns out, they can eat Styrofoam!

[@thebrainscoop]

what! how?!

[@leelarson1952]

@@thebrainscoop It's all about their gut microbes. Lots of info on the web, but here's one link. news.stanford.edu/pr/2015/pr-worms-digest-plastics-092915.html There's also a post about a researcher that put some in with a Styrofoam head wearing a Styrofoam bicycle helmet insert. ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=19635

[@komencanto]

@@thebrainscoop Here's a link to the presentation we made about it! I love your videos BTW! docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qdF509gWibRcPC0EZi7yArrO0RJ-_EMu7xnAoTfFVbA/edit?usp=sharing

[@moterinsun]

I absolutely love hearing about stuff like this in the comments. Like, I may be trying to get a college degree, but I'm trying to get an engineering degree, and stuff like this is way out of my circle and I love it.

[@jonnyb.animationstutorials7119]

@@thebrainscoop Not only can they eat it, they can successfully turn it into topsoil. Not always on the first try, but nevertheless.

[@spiralpython1989]

As a reptile keeper, I have become fascinated with beetles and roaches... I now farm them for my lizards’ food, but I have also developed a real interest in watching these amazing creatures live their lives. And darkling beetles are really interesting ; particularly the hugely different husbandry needs of different darklings... my different lizard species also have different preferences for the particular beetles species and preferences for which life stage they prefer... Beetles Rock 🤘🏽

[@caloocanboy5800]

what... how many darkling beetles species are used as feeders? Rn i only keep superworms, but ik theres also mealworms.

[@jancerny8109]

Tenebrionid: Hah! I fart poison in your general direction, you unimaginative clade of mammals! Mouse: Yeah, watch what grabbing paws and enough brains to know a head from an ass can do...

[@ALAPINO]

I'm watching this while sorting out pupae and beetles from one of my colonies. Nice! Psst! Random tip that will affect 4 of you reading this: Use a U.V. light (395 nm) to spot out non-viable pupa. It won't tell you immediately when they die, but after it starts to decompose the pupa will start to fluoresce yellow to bright green. I compost those I find using this method. ;]

[@Ktulu789]

Take that bioluminiscence!

[@Nephilim0]

Cool, thanks 👏🏻

[@isawadelapradera6490]

useful advice, thanks!

[@revisehellenologo]

Loving her shirt 😊❤

[@rosyrooroo352]

Just had my darkling beetle pass a few days ago. I saw my blue death feigners crowding around it and realized that it had died. Seeing this video felt like a nice little ode to a beetle that I have mad respect for, and hopefully it helps others feel that way too. Thanks!

[@NewMessage]

"Luke.. I am your (reptile) fodder..."

[@Frostmute19]

I find these often in my room. I have a feeling I have some escaped mealworms from my reptile tank lol

[@charliespinoza1966]

The blue death feigning beetle looked sort of like it was in an Edwardian ladies dress.

[@Axqu7227]

I have a colony of these guys (Zophobas Morio) to feed their larvae to my frogs!! It's nice to learn more about them in their own right too; they're a lot cooler than I thought they were!

[@Orandu]

Emily: “Beetles make up 22% of described life on earth.” Me: “WHAT!! How come nobody ever told me this?!” Edit me: “So there’s more different types of beetles than there are different types of plants _and_ algae... WHAT!”

[@Ktulu789]

... Vertebrates are 1%

[@theshuman100]

1 in four animals are a beetle. For all we know there could be a beetle among us right now

[@MB32904]

@@theshuman100 WHAT!?

[@theshuman100]

@@MB32904 ඞ

[@alexcarter8807]

I had a beetle I was harassing in the Southwest stick its little rear end up and shoot stuff at me, but it was really benign. Beetles are so cool. I've been lulled to sleep by click beetles in my childhood in Hawaii, had a "gold" beetle there go in my nose when I was riding a scooter there and honked him out, and once my mom had a beetle fly a straight line fastball right into her mouth when she was bitching us out. "Did I swallow a bug??" she asked. "Yes, Mother, you swallowed a bug!" I have to say in conclusion, Thanks, Beetles!

[@sheep1ewe]

Thank You! You are realy living my childhood dream!

[@thebrainscoop]

Mine too!!!

[@charlottemarek3045]

Looking at bugs creeps me out, so I blanked my screen and listened. Interesting information as long as I don't have to see them.

[@duhduhvesta]

Citizens like me love to learn about morphology of insects. This was amazing and thank you

[@duckens2001]

When friends meet our Blue Death Feigning Beetles, I introduce them as the "Fainting Goats" of the Beetle World. I've had dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, and fish, for pets. I've pet-sat for lizards, birds, and Guinea pigs. Beetles are BY FAR the easiest pet to take care of.

[@gartengeflugel924]

Your videos are always fun to watch and very informative! It's wonderful that you never just present your information dry but always make it interesting!

[@ascetic3312]

Missed you, Emily. You're so good at your job. Thank you and all your colleagues for you all do.

[@anastasiabeaverhausen8220]

Wanted to thank you and PBS for Prehistoric Road Trip, but couldn't find anywhere on PBS' website to send a simple thank you for such enjoyable programming. That's a trip I would've loved to have taken.

[@JaimeAlcorn]

So look forward to new content. You present very well and always on interesting subjects.

[@Spring_rhys]

I always love seeing new videos from you guys!!! Especially about beetles ❣️❣️❣️ (I hope y’all are staying safe btw!)

[@CrankyPantss]

Seeing a new Brain Scoop video is always a treat. I enjoyed your interview with Dr. Thayer. She seems like such a fun and knowledgeable lady. She had a very cool shirt on, too. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[@christopher2573]

The Metal Gear Solid alert noise at 05:17 really cracked me up. Great to see the Brain Scoop posting new videos!

[@BlackIndigenousPosse]

Yeah that was good. I think that must have been Michael Aranda's idea, 'cause it's a video game reference!

[@jedmetallica]

I haven't watched one of these amazing videos in what feels like years! now one pops up and it feels like i'm meeting an old friend for coffee :) I am super happy you are back in my life!

[@thestructuresguy8355]

Thank you for the great content you put on here. It's really inspiring to me as a startup KZbinr

[@skybluskyblueify]

When I get a new puppy it only takes one encounter of the darkling beetle that live in my desert area to have them avoid them or at least ignore them as much as they can whenever they notice them again.

[@benjaminjohnke4108]

Lovely video Emily! Thanks to everyone behind the cameras too :)

[@PossumMedic]

xD love the MGS edit! Thanks for another great vid! :)

[@dkecskes2199]

Yes I remember seeing the eloides longicolis when living in Baja California. I had to leave the area for 2 hours after disturbing one while cleaning.

[@michaelmcgourty9535]

Yay! thebrainscoop is back!

[@makaylamusgrove4807]

Love both of your shirts!

[@buggyboy2849]

YES! So glad I found this today! New awesome channel! Keep it bugging y'all!

[@robertconklin3322]

Loved this one, thank you!

[@basdrost8390]

What a nice group of beetles! Lovely video :)

[@amberallen7809]

Death Feigning beetles are cool! I did a summer internship at the Audubon insectarium in New Orleans a couple years ago and the beetle group became some of my favorites! Part of my job was to go around and remove any dead specimens before the museum opened. The death Feigning beetles made that part hard 😂 BUT they didn't move around as much as say, tiger beetles, making them easier to count (another thing I had to do)

[@ratbastard6358]

I love these guys!! I'm keeping some in captivity right now (I'm under the assumption that they're desert stink beetles specifically because they smell REALLY bad when you try and handle them and they match the general description) and wasn't expecting to get a video on them since there such lesser appreciated beetles!! Thank you for the excellent display of beetle information and cool shirts.

[@georgecunningham9175]

Jeeze.............ANOTHER rabbit hole for me to fall into. Obviously, nothing more of any practical worth shall be accomplished during my business day than a cursory investigation into Darkling Beetles..... I have been hoping for a video from you to help alleviate my isolation boredom and you have come through. Thanks to you and Dr. Thayer for my intellectual stimulation for the week, nice to "see" you again (you have been missed!), and ......................keep on keeping safe!

[@ShubhamBhushanCC]

Brain Scoop is my happy place. Thank You!!!

[@samanthaschireson-mattie921]

Love the beetles and your birdwatching videos, Emily!

[@animalswithtomek4188]

Thanks! That was really interesting!

[@tannerbland9827]

I live in Arizona (attend the UofA) and did a project with darkling beetles, as many of them are native to the Sonoran region. They are truly fascinating! Tenebrionidae is one of the coolest families of beetles out there! Also, if you're interested in learning a lot about beetles, or insects in general, check out the University of Arizona Insect collection website (uainsectcollection.edu). One of the largest and most complete university insect collections (and, in my opinion, the coolest) in the country! We've got nearly a 300k bees and many more beetles, ants, and other insects and are in the processing of uploading every specimen onto our website. Hope you enjoy!

[@tausifahmad8492]

thank brain scoop, I am graduating in Entomology and your videos are most helpful to me

[@siliconsciousness]

I love Dr. Thayer's shirt!

[@andrearocchio4696]

Love all of this!!!

[@jimmyshrimbe9361]

Awesome video!

[@Ryan6.022]

Could you possible look into the ironclad beetles? It's exoskeleton is so tough to mount them it requires a drill to make a hole to pin them.

[@SartiseGarcia]

This was an awesome video and it taught me so much about what I didn't know about beetles. I did not know that beetles have the ability to spray their predator or pretend that they are dead when frightened. All of this information was new and I'm sure that with finding more and more species on a yearly basis that there are other adaptations that we could learn about in the near future.

[@iksarguards]

What I learned: Beetles are basically Pokémon. Dark type beetles, fire types. Poison and electric types.

[@christiansaravia7865]

I have a whole colony of darkling beetles, they are my favorite

[@jilliancrawford7577]

This is so fascinating. It's good to know that humidity is beneficial for my darkling beetle and superworm farms too!

[@moi5219]

Beyond the great information…you both make me want to get my ears pierced 😮

[@monicabello3527]

Thank you for this video, I do really love darkling beetles😍 fortunately here in Italy we have a good number of species😀

[@1955nomad]

Thank you . Stay healthy.

[@miguelschoedel7691]

Ohhhhh how much I've missed my Brain Scoop. Xoxoxo

[@michaelpytel3280]

Thanks Emily, according to my calendar May 15 is Endangered Species Day , at least the beetles are doing well. And Thanks to Dr. Thayer.

[@censusgary]

So worldwide, there are maybe a million beetle species, and around 20,000 of those species are darkling beetles. For perspective on this, there are about 10,000 species of birds in the world, and only around 6,500 species of mammals (including 96 that have gone extinct in modern times). I’ve heard it claimed that on the average, every cubic meter of soil contains one or more un described beetle species.

[@justacat2318]

I like how Dr.Margarett describe the size of the beetles.

[@pineapplemilkify]

excellent.

[@marklandgraf7667]

Dr. Margaret did NOT want to let go of that box

[@babyzworldchannel7160]

she's so talented

[@thewonderfulwizardofcodsaq3472]

Hi I love your channel

[@lilitheden748]

Dr. Thayer wears a super cool insect blouse 😃

[@SBerry-sy4wq]

@thebrainscoop Emily, did you make your shirt? I have the same fabric in blue from Mood and just love it. Wonderful show as always!

[@jeppe921]

🎶black Beatles more than meets the eye🎶 black Beatles insects in disguis🎶

[@Teanu.]

We love you brain scoop!

[@CucumbersSC]

I think back to the other day on a late night walk when a beetle just like some of these was possibly my most charismatic find. Although I was looking for leeches so I guess I am not exactly proof that love for darkling beetles (and other black beetle-shaped beetles) is mainstream ;P

[@kenbellchambers4577]

In NSW, we have what we call 'Bombardier Beetles', they defend themselves by shooting superheated steam with irritants in it at chickens that are trying to eat them. The chickens definitely do not like that stuff in their face, so they run away. You can actually see the puff of steam. This beetle is medium brown in colour about 20 mm (3/4 inch) in length, and they can be found under old pieces of wood. They seem to like old boards, lying on the ground in open areas. We also have some very large beetles in our area, and sometimes I find hundreds of beetle larvae in a compost pile. I once cut a wattle tree for fire wood, and inside there was a beetle grub around 200 mm long, and around 30 mm in diameter. (8 inches x one inch.) I haven't seen any beetles that size, but they must be around here somewhere!

[@KN_MA]

Funny, I’m doing a little experiment right now with Superworms and darkling beetles for school. Then is little video pops up and puts my little thing to shame! Thanks for the wonderful info and video!

[@censusgary]

People with pet reptiles, amphibians, or birds are likely to be familiar with darkling beetle larvae, more commonly known as meal worms. They are said to be a nutritious food for people as well, but in North America, meal worms are mostly sold for feeding to animals.

[@elfinshell4758]

I clicked pretty fast as I keep mealworms, and was rather concerned there was some acid spraying I didn’t know about! Thankfully they’re not the same ones that spray, but thank you so much for the informative video!

[@Lady8D]

By the end of this video my main thought is: damn! I wish it were longer! Which is odd bc I'm not a huge fan of beetles...I am a huge fan of this channel/channel's presenter tho =)

[@typacsk]

Think I saw some of these out in the Wyoming desert this morning :D (...not what I was looking for, but still)

[@jbhane]

This makes me so homesick for the days I volunteered for the #divisonofinsects. I miss my Field Museum buddies. 😭 so cool Emily. Thanks for sharing this.

[@jcortese3300]

The wide, flat ones that burrowed reminded me of an Eons video that said that turtles probably grew their wide bodies to burrow more effectively as well.

[@duhduhvesta]

YESSSSSS!!! More bugs!!! Love this

[@KiddsockTV]

This Video BUGGED me! lol I love hearing that Intro music. Makes me smile. What are the Beetles that when on their back will Flip/Click to turn over?

[@jrs36psu]

excellent commentary on the usefulness of the research and these collections ... besides "you're attracted" .. lol just struck me as a funny line.

[@BlackIndigenousPosse]

I've seen a bunch of (rather small) pie-plate beetles here in Australia. We call them pie-dish beetles. I think that shape is an adaptation to help them maintain their little personal space bubble.

[@Ktulu789]

"Come join the darkling side!" I have never seen a pun so nerd as this... And I laughed so hard at it! xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD I had to pause the video. Ps: 1% vertebrates, gives a whole new meaning to "we are nothing".

[@JohnLeePettimoreIII]

Solving the mysteries of the universe, one beetle at a time. 😀

[@franzanth]

omg the only darkling species I'm familiar with is in the genus Derispia - they look like itty bitty, microscopic ladybugs. I always assumed that's what they all look like. this episode completely blew my mind.

[@towelkeeper]

Fun fact: The tanker bugs in Starship Troopers are based on darkling beetles. Just... a lot larger.

[@Jeipillow]

this is why everytime i touch my beetles(zophobas morio) i watch my hand because of the smell but while watching infront of me my darkling beetles are mating but its just shocking that theres that many species of beetles

[@Frog888]

Blue death feigning beetles make cool pets. I've seen them at reptile shows a lot.

[@pettime2785]

where i live people use mealworms as food for exotic pets i feed them to my geckos and other pets but i also keep adult beetles as pets i think they are really cool

[@koookeeez]

My family in Mexico call them "pinacate" and I learned at an early age to just sweep them away quickly and not squish them because they smell so bad.

[@ambulocetusnatans]

I used to feed the larva to my Anole back in the day.

[@fitzdettmer7699]

I'm a (just finished) college freshman majoring in Ecology and Evolution and every time I watch a nature video my idea of what I want to specialize in changes. Fish? Bugs? Birds? I don't know!

[@joshuarosen6242]

JBS Haldane (well-known English biologist) famously said that if there were a God he had "an inordinate fondness for beetles". There are a lot of beetles.

[@alicehensley9971]

Darkling beetles are super interesting! I breed them for worm that’s I feed to my animals!

[@SuperCreeperHater]

Margaret is such a nerd I love her

[@Lic021]

i love that you're both wearing bug shirts!

[@hughbarton5743]

Noted British scientist J.B.S. Haldane,, in response to a question concerning what definitive statement he could make concerning biology, said " God must love beetles, because he made so many of them..."

[@Whereisthefall]

oh my god, i have been wondering for years what kind of beetle it was that sprayed me in the face when i was Illinois was! lip went numb and ran to some nearby water and washed it off fast but man did it scare me