Ceratocanthus aeneus (pill scarab)

[livingplanet3]

I'd not heard of this scarab beetle (Ceratocanthus aeneus) until today -

https://bugguide.net/node/view/397547



It only measures around 5 mm when enrolled. I didn't know that beetles had an analogue to the Armadillidiidae isopods and Oniscomorpha millipedes. It's not surprising though - the ability to roll into an armored ball must be a reasonably effective defense in nature, and it can be found in various other animal groups too, even mammals -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x71UlnYVEU

[bandrow]

Greetings,

Yes - these are amazing, and a real challenge to prepare! They are often big enough to take a #1 pin, but getting it in without damaging something ain't easy. I've pointed all the specimens I've seen, but they're big enough that pointing them is also a challenge. I've only collected a couple myself, but I've seen a couple of dozen in Lindgren funnel trap samples from Georgia.

The genus Germarostes is way more common, and almost as compact as Ceratocanthus. They're not uncommon at lights sometimes here in the East...

Cheers!
Bandrow