Categories

Beautiful periwinkle-colored beetle
Hi there!
I was exploring herps at the Desert Studies Center in Zyzzyx, CA, in the Mojave Desert, and we came across many of these beautiful insects. They played dead (became stiff) when poked at, and then when they thought the coast was clear, would get up and start trucking around again. What are they? I’d looked in many of the insect field guides at the center and couldn’t find anything remotely this color. Thanks for any help! Sincerely,
Hannah
San Francisco, CA

We are relatively certain that this is a Darkling Beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, but are unsure of the species. We hope Eric Eaton can be more conclusive.

Thanks Daniel,
Sorry I sent the same email quite a few times from a couple of addresses, I kept getting Undeliverable messages. I also looked through all your beetle pages and see that it is in fact a Blue Death-Feigning Beetle. Thanks for your help!
Hannah

Hi Hannah,
We are a tad bit embarrassed that we identified this beetle over a year ago and you had to locate the previous listing on our own site. The Death Feigning Beetle, Cryptoglossa verrucosa, is sometimes called an Ironclad Beetle

Related Posts

1. Death Feigning Beetle (May 24, 2006)
2. Death Feigning Beetle (May 15, 2006)
3. Death Feigning Beetle (September 5, 2006)
4. Darkling Beetle from Kuwait (February 13, 2007)
5. Death Feigning Beetle (August 31, 2009)