The stink beetle is aptly named since the insect emits a foul odor when touched or crushed, limiting its number of natural predators. While the stink beetle is a garden pest with a voracious appetite for plant leaves, the insects also have spiritual meanings that include protection, strength, and perseverance.

Eleodes osculans, the wooly darkling beetle, is a common nocturnal insect in coastal southern California. As a stink beetle of genus Eleodes, its easily observed defensive posture is to raise its hind end and secrete an unpleasant odor. This is one of the few Tenebrionid beetle species in North America to be covered in visible fuzz. E. osculans is the only known darkling beetle species which has brightly colored reddish brown hair covering most of its black exoskeleton.

Eleodes armata, the armored stink beetle, is a species of desert stink beetle in the family Tenebrionidae. It is found in the western United States and Mexico.

The obscure darkling beetle is distinguished by its behavior of standing on its head when threatened, a unique defensive strategy it employs possibly to deter predators with the appearance of greater size or to emit defensive secretions. Inhabiting arid environments, these creatures exhibit remarkable adaptations to conserve water, including a waxy layer on their exoskeleton to minimize moisture loss and behavior that reduces activity during the heat of the day.

Triple-ridged darkling beetle is a species of desert stink beetle in the family Tenebrionidae.

Eleodes acuticauda is a species of desert stink beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, found in southwestern North America.

Eleodes suturalis, or the red-backed darkling beetle, is a species of darkling beetle in the genus Eleodes found in the United States. Their range extends from South Dakota to Texas and are not known to exist west of the Rocky Mountains. They can be easily identified by the distinctive red stripe which goes down the center of their flat elytra.

In the arid environments where rough-lipped darkling beetle thrives, this robust creature plays a vital role in nutrient recycling. As a detritivore, its diet consists mainly of decomposing plant material, catalyzing the process of decomposition. This species is distinguished by its defensive posture, which involves standing on its head and secreting a foul-smelling substance to deter predators, a behavior known as thanatosis. With a nocturnal lifestyle, it avoids predators and extreme daytime temperatures, ensuring its survival in challenging habitats.