Hide beetle (Omorgus suberosus)

Omorgus suberosus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Trogidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Hide beetle (Omorgus suberosus)
Photo: hr_dragonfly, CC BY

The hide beetle is a small, rough-shelled beetle about 11 to 14 mm long with a pale brown, convex back and fine hairs on its pronotum. It lives in many parts of the world, from Central and South America through parts of Europe to several Australian states, and feeds on dead animal material.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Its back is convex, very rough with ridges and bumps, and is pale brown in color. The pronotum carries long, fine hairs.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Adults measure between 11 and 14 mm in length.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Adults survive the winter months in a dormant state.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

The species feeds on carrion.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Adults overwinter and resume activity when conditions improve.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It is also found in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain, and several Australian states.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 33 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Kentucky, Florida, California, Michigan, Alabama.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Questions people ask

What do hide beetles eat?

They are carrion feeders, consuming dead animal material.

Source: Wikipedia

Where are hide beetles found?

They live from the southern United States through South America, as well as parts of Europe and Australia.

Source: Wikipedia

How big do they get?

Adults are about 11 to 14 mm long.

Source: Wikipedia

Do they survive the winter?

Yes, they overwinter as adults.

Source: Wikipedia

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omorgus_suberosus

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.