Eleodes obscura
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Eleodes obscura, commonly known as the obscure darkling beetle, is a species of darkling beetle in the genus Eleodes of western North America. It ranges from south-central British Columbia, eastern Washington and Oregon, south to northern Mexico and east to Nebraska, Kansas and Texas.
Eleodes obscura is dull, black, 23–31 mm (0.9–1.2 in) long with grooved elytra. Each front femur bears an anterior tooth near the tibia. The pronotum lacks obvious forward projections from the anterior corners. The diet of Eleodes obscura includes dead plant material, animal remains, roots, and seeds. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Obscure Darkling Beetle sighting in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, based on 44 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 143 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Obscure Darkling Beetle in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September and November–February, the lowest months. That is one of Grand Canyon National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 40 mm in March.
Between 5 and 8 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Obscure Darkling Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Obscure Darkling Beetle sightings, Grand Canyon National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Zion National Park (United States, about 50%) and Guadalupe Mountains National Park (United States, about 30%).
Same genus: Eleodes
The closest relatives of the Obscure Darkling Beetle that you can see in Grand Canyon National Park (genus Eleodes, Desert Stink Beetles) are Eleodes pilosa (about 10%) and Extricated Darkling Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Obscure Darkling Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Grand Canyon National Park (44 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
