Unidentified scarab beetle photographed using an i

I arrived in Los Cabos after dark, and the first thing I did after I checked-in was to take a walk around the hotel grounds to see what critters I could find. I found two specimens of these beautiful little beetles next to a light set in the ground along the path. I assume the beetles had been attracted by the light. Each beetle was about ½ long (1.25 centimetres) and as you can see, they were a nice mahogany colour. I believe they we some type of scarab beetle, but I have no idea what kind.

I had to made a simple white box out of photocopy paper to take this photo. It had me feeling positively MacGyverish!

Cheers,
EC
www.macrocritters.wordpress.com

beetle in Los Cabos copyright Ernie Cooper 2012_filtered by ernie.cooper, on Flickr