The churchyard beetle is one of the larger beetles of the Maltese islands, with some individual specimen growing up to 37mm long. It prefers to live in dark humid areas and can sometimes be found in basements, cellars, cave entrances and, obviously, churches. In Maltese, it is in fact known as ħanfusa tal-kantina.

The churchyard beetle cannot fly because its front wings are fused together and cannot be lifted

The front wings of most beetles are hardened and cover the abdomen and a pair of delicate wings. To fly, most beetles lift their front wings and unfurl the hind wings. The churchyard beetle cannot fly because its front wings are fused together and cannot be lifted. This inability to fly could leave this species susceptible to many predators but it compensates for this by secreting a pungent liquid from glands found in the joints of its limbs. Any bird or mammal trying to eat it soon learns to leave this disgusting insect alone.

Unpalatable insects such as the ladybird often have bright warning colours to make them easily recognisable.

The churchyard beetle is jet black, probably because it lives in dark places where colours would be of no use.

When threatened, the churchyard beetle can also change its posture to appear larger. It pushes its head against the ground and extends its hind legs to tilt its body so that its wings face its enemy.

Several closely-related species that live in the Namib Desert on misty nights take up a similar position to collect water which forms on their body. The water then trickles down their back to their head and mouth.

The churchyard beetle belongs to a family of beetles known as the darkling beetles – a name they acquired because of their dark colour. The darkling is a large family with more than 20,000 members. About 50 species can be found locally, a number of which are endemic to the Maltese islands.

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