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BeetlesHelp with identification
My daughter Hanling took this photo of a beetle we saw while camping along the Colorado River south of Hoover dam this past April. We are hoping you would be able to help identify it.
Thank you
Norm Petredean
Hi Norm,
We thought this might be one of the Ironclad Beetles in the Darkling Family, but it didn’t quite look correct. We searched the Darkling Beetles on BugGuide and came up with a match. This is a Death Feigning Beetle, Cryptoglossa verrucosa, though it is sometimes called an Ironclad Beetle. The mottled coloration seems a bit odd.
Update (05/19/2006)
Hi there, Just wanted to let you know that you are indeed correct on the Cryptoglossa verrucosa picture posted on 5-15-06. It is a death feigning beetle or blue death feigning beetle but you mention that the mottled coloration is odd. I was just going to add that this occurs when the beetle gets wet in anyway. If they get a drop or dew or something of the sort, that area will turn flat black in a blotch. Or, if it gets totally wet via rain or a otherwise, the entire beetle will change in color from that light blue/gray to pure black, and stay this way for several hours to a few days. Just a FYI!
Adam
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