Scarab beetle
Agestrata
Augosoma
Canthon
Chalcosoma
Chelorrhina
Cheirolasia
Cheirotonus
Cotinus
Dynastes
Eudicella
Goliathus
Megsoma
Onthophagus
Pachnoda
Phanaeus
Plusiotis
Ranzania
Rhomborrhina
Stephanorrhina
Xylotrupes
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The
scarab is a type of
beetle noted for rolling
dung into spherical balls and pushing it, as well as its habit of laying its eggs in animal dung. Because most of the scarab species work with dung they are commonly referred to as
dung beetles.
The dung beetles are classified as family
Scarabaeidae, which includes over 20,000 species in numerous
genera, including the
African genus
Goliathus, the largest and heaviest of the beetles. Dung beetles live in many different habitats, including
desert,
farmland,
forest, and
grasslands. They do not like extremely cold or dry weather. They occur on all continents except
Antarctica.
The majority of the dung beetle diet is dung. They will eat dung from a variety of animals as long as the animal is
herbivorous. Dung beetles also feed on
mushrooms, leaves, and decaying matter. Dung beetles do not need to eat anything else because the dung provides all the nutrients; they don't even need to drink water.
The dung beetle body consists of head,
abdomen, and
thorax. They have legs, located on the thorax, that are specialized for shoveling dung and rolling it along.
The dung beetle has complete
metamorphosis. The female will lay an egg in a dung ball which will then be buried to protect it from erosion and predators. During the
larval stage the dung beetle will feed on the dung surrounding it.
The Scarabs of Ancient Egypt
Scarabs featured prominently in Egyptian art and Egyptian mythology.
The scarab was considered sacred by the Ancient Egyptians because they believed that in its rolling dung balls around, it mirrored the way the great god Ra – or his avatar Khepri, himself depicted as a scarab – rolled the sun across the sky each day.
Because of its additional habit of laying its eggs in animal dung and the bodies of dead animals, the scarab was also associated with rebirth, renewal and resurrection; consequently, it was seen as a symbol of life and rebirth.
Stone scarabs were often placed in Egyptian tombs as a symbol of the deceased's rebirth into the afterlife, and jewelry with the beetle has often been found in tombs as well. A scarab amulet was worn over the heart as a replacement heart in the afterlife (as the real heart was removed in the mummification process). Living Egyptians also wore stone scarabs as a symbol of protection in this life and the next.
References
