The Shiz

Description

Schizillis laticeps is The Shiz. The what? Listen up, these beetles are the shiz!

It’s hard not to say this is my favorite death feigning beetle species. They are larger than most and they have a shovel-like clypeus up front, just like many dung beetles. That must mean they are adept at digging. Their coloration ranges a bit from glossy black to matte black, and sometimes they take on a ghostly bluish color, in a fashion similar to blue death feigning beetles when they are dry and happy.

I’ve been hoarding the only half dozen I’ve ever managed to get my hands on for years, but recently let two go to Dr. Dean Rider when he asked if I had any dead stock of the species. I replied back that I could do him one better and sent him two living ones so that he could photograph them for his wonderful new book at the Amazon Affiliate link below. Buy it through this link and it costs you the same but I get a small commission. You might as well get the hardcover. It’s only a few bucks more.

Best Death Feigning Beetle Book Ever Written

But I digress. The Shiz are actually a fairly widespread species in the west including Arizona, Nevada, California and Baja California, but almost nobody even knows they exist. We feed them mainly fish food pellets, carrot and apple (no peels is recommended due to pesticides). They aren’t picky. Size varies a little bit. They are perfectly communal with all our other tenebrionidae family desert beetle offerings on the site.

$19.99 each. Limit one per customer, sorry.

See photos on Bugguide.net