Dung Beetles (Scarab) Facts
Dung Beetles (Scarab) Facts
2. Have three main parts to a beetle's body: the head, the thorax (the middle part), and the abdomen (the back part).
3. On the head, beetles have antennae (feelers), eyes, and a mouth.
4. The legs and wings of the beetle are attached to the thorax.
5. Species of dung beetles are found on every continent except Antarctica.
6. Dung beetles may have played the role of pooper-scooper to the dinosaurs.
7. Dung beetles have been introduced in Australia since they are not originally from that island. Since Australia brought in cattle, they had to have a way to take care of the waste. In N.A., the beetles do that for the farmers.
8. There are approximately 37,000 species of dung beetles.
9. They belong to the order Coleoptera - the largest order in the entire animal kingdom.
10. There may be many more dung beetles because thousands of species have not yet been found!
11. Dung beetles eat poo!
12. Beetles eat many different things: living plants, rotting plants, animals that may be dead or alive, and animal feces .
13. Some beetles can eat both plants and animals, while others eat just one type of food.
14. The female dung beetle lays a single egg into each ball of dung.
15. When the eggs hatch, the larvae will feed on the dung.
16. Some of the larger dung beetles can move balls of dung up to 50 times their own weight
17. Australia imported 45 species of dung beetle from to get rid of cattle dung.
18. One dung beetle can bury 250 times its own weight in a night.
19. A dung beetle can live up to 3 years.
20. Most dung beetles are dark colored, or have shiny metallic colors or bright patterns.
21. Dung beetles have wings and can fly.
22. Their six legs are made for rolling dung and digging holes.
23. The scarab beetle and his mate lay their larva eggs then pile manure and waste around the eggs. They roll the pile into a ball with their hind legs.
24. The dung beetle occasionally appeared in great numbers on the beaches of the Nile River.
25. In ancient Egypt it was the most important religious symbol.
manure.
27. It can use polarized moonlight at night to navigate the way as it rolls a dung ball to a safe spot away from the pile. With a moon, the beetles rolled their dung balls away in a straight line. This is the most efficient path. Without a moon, the beetles could not roll the ball in a straight line.
28. These scarabs-also known as dung beetles-are important because they eat dung and decaying vegetables.
29. Our planet would have been buried in manure long ago if it hadn’t been for the dung beetle.
30. Whether in the plains of Africa, the jungles of the Amazon, or the cattle ranches of
31. Texas, thousands of dung beetles do their work.
32. Each day beetles clear away millions of tons of droppings from messy mammals.
33. The dung can be whisked away in a matter of hours or minutes.
34. Like earthworms, they churn up and aerate the soil making it rich to grow crops. They bury what they don’t eat, and this adds nitrogen to the soil. The African beetle’s outer skin is like armor. Its stout legs are like scoops and rakes used to gather dung.
36. Men also thought that the beetles were only males and could reproduce themselves.
37. The men thought the beetle must be a god. They connected the beetles on the beach with resurrection
and eternal life.
38. When their pharaoh died, the holy men would cut out the heart and replace it with a jeweled scarab.
39. There are about 90 species of dung beetles in the U.S. and about 7,000 worldwide.
40. The life cycle of the dung beetle is among the most complex found among beetles, and insects in general.
41. The larva feasts on the interior contents of the ball and therefore does not have to compete with others for a food source. It is also protected from predators outside the ball. If the integrity of the brood ball is destroyed, the larva will die.
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