Death Valley June beetle Concern by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The California Department of Fish and Game considers the beetle a "Special Animal" of high conservation need. Death Valley June beetle The Death Valley June beetle ("Polyphylla erratica") is a scarab beetle in the subfamily Melolonthinae. It is only known to occur in the drainage basin of the Amargosa River in the southwestern United States. Saltgrass communities, such as those at Saratoga Springs in Death Valley, provide habitat for the insect at all stages of its life. Predators of the beetle include coyotes, ravens, and shrikes, the last of which are
Nevada State Route 373 Valley come into view. The route continues north from here to its terminus at US 95, near the former site of Lathrop Wells. An unimproved road through Amargosa Valley, connecting Nevada to Death Valley Junction, appears on state maps as early as 1927. This route crossed the state line roughly where the current highway crosses now, but instead veered northwest to State Route 5 (now US 95) southwest of Beatty near the now defunct town of Caracca. The road, which paralleled the tracks of the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad to the west, was recognized as State Route 29 by 1932.