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Mojave Desert Beetle
Hi there. I just wanted to say that I love your site, its provided many hours of fun browsing and reading. I thought I’d contribute some pictures I took while on a motorcycle trip through the Mojave last weekend. While walking off the beaten trail (my bike having gotten stuck in some sand), I saw this guy scurry across the path I was walking on. He was kind of a pain to get a picture of, but was kind enough to let me pick him up and set him down a few times so I could get a good picture. I found the texture on his abdomen to be quite facinating. I’ve never seen a beetle quite like it. An hour or so of searching online helped me ID the beetle as *Cryptoglossa verrucosa, *commonly called either the Grey Death Feigner, Mojave Desert Beetle, or (confusingly) the Ironclad Beetle. I’ve ID’d him succesfully, but still thought you might appreciate some pictures, as I didnt see any *Cryptoglossa verrucosa* in your beetle pages. I found it interesting that he didn’t display his death feigning behaviour when I handled him. He was quite active, running around in circles while I tried to get a decent photograph. Thanks for maintaining your site, I look forward to learning more from it. Sincerely,
Patrick Moore

Hi Patrick,
Earlier this year we did post another photo of a Death Feigning Beetle, but we are also thrilled to post your colorful letter and wonderful photo.

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