1/31/2022: Vibing with Eleodes from Paradise

I reserve the right to go on and on about past collecting trips, long and short, productive and barren. Part of the thrill that keeps on giving is finding something one-off, or not particularly engaging at first but falling in love as you figure out the husbandry and quirks to the species.

As you snake your way up 42 Forest Road in the Chiricahua mountains, right around Rustler Park near Paradise is a gorgeous creek/wash with an excellent view of the surrounding valleys and forests. This is an easy access point for subalpine collecting, and many captivating invertebrates confined to this uniquely mesic Arizona habitat await the dedicated enthusiast.

While seeking cave crickets under pine bark around 8,000 feet, I found a few small and particularly volatile Eleodes. Upon descent and several days of travel, my cave crickets disappointingly desiccated to my immense dismay and shock, but the Eleodes remained vigorous. Once home, I decided to prioritize setting them up, as their small size and unique origins were appealing and led to several daydreams about a bustling, multi-species, self-perpetuating darkling beetle enclosure. No one could have prepared me for this little beetle’s response to my husbandry, and within a few months a gush of captive bred adults popped up.

The only roadblock to making these available was an ID. Eleodes has many familiar and well-known species, but many, many more that require expert examination and knowledge of fine details. After some tentative determinations, TJ put me in contact with Andrew Johnston, who recently revised some components of Eleodes. Pending more specific pictures, the exact identity of these guys is currently unknown!

Hopefully my habitat notes are useful for fleshing out the ecological and biological picture of these cute little beetles, and maybe other folks will become as smitten with them as I have.

-Kyle