JTNP: The Pleistocene Fossils of Pinto Wash

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These inflated beetles (cysteodemus armatus) are another type of blister beetle. Their elytra are fused together, and inflated to the point of being almost round. The dead air space under their elytra is thought to provide insulation against the searing ground level temperatures encountered in the desert. The yellow splotches are secretions rather than pollen picked up from blossoms.

These inflated beetles (cysteodemus armatus) are another type of blister beetle. Their elytra are fused together, and inflated to the point of being almost round. The dead air space under their elytra is thought to provide insulation against the searing ground level temperatures encountered in the desert. The yellow splotches are secretions rather than pollen picked up from blossoms.

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