The Latin species name olens, meaning "smelling", refers to the two white stinking glands on the abdomen.

[11] Subspecies within this species include:[1] These very common and widespread beetles are present in most of Europe and in North Africa.

[3] They prefer areas with damp conditions and can be found from April to October in meadows, heath and moorland, woodlands, hedgerows, and parks and gardens.

It emits a foul-smelling odour, as a defensive secretion, from a pair of white glands at the end of its abdomen.

[2] It is a predator, hunting mainly by night, feeding on a range of invertebrates, including worms, slugs, spiders, and woodlice, as well as carrion.

[4] The bolus is repeatedly chewed and swallowed, emerging covered with a brown secretion from the foregut, until it is reduced to a liquid that is digested.

[2] They are large (4 mm or 3⁄16 in) and white with a darker band and laid singly in damp conditions under moss, stones, cow manure, or leaf litter.