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
Death Valley Railroad train ran per day bringing food and water to the workers at the Ryan mine, and bought ore back late in the afternoon. After better deposits of borax were discovered at Boron, the Death Valley Railroad tried to resort to tourist operations by bringing in a Brill railcar to transport tourists to the old mines. Due to a lack of profit from tourists and freight trains and the closure of the mines, the railroad closed in 1931. Much of the railroad ran parallel to what is today State Route 190. After this railroad ceased operations, the United States Potash Company