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Genus Onthophagus

Scarab - Onthophagus gazella - female Bull Headed Dung Beetle - Onthophagus taurus - male Dung Beetle? - Onthophagus smaller dung beetle - Onthophagus pennsylvanicus Onthophagus orpheus - male Small Dung Beetle Male - Onthophagus nuchicornis - male - female Female metalic scarab - Onthophagus orpheus - female Ontophagus sp. - Onthophagus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
Superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Scarab, Stag and Bess Beetles)
Family Scarabaeidae (Scarab Beetles)
Subfamily Scarabaeinae (Dung Beetles)
Genus Onthophagus
Explanation of Names
ont- or onto- combining form 7NL, fr. LGk onto-, fr. Gk ont-,: living organism & -phagus: N.L. masc. n. from Gr. masc. n. phagos, glutton or N.L. masc. substantive from Gr. v. phagein, to eat.
Numbers
Nearctica.com lists 32 species in genus for North America. They didn't include O. gazella and O. taurus though.
Identification
Small dung beetles, often with variously adorned heads/pronotums in males.
Life Cycle
Adults dig a tunnel under the dung supply for the larvae. (1) Some species also found on carrion, fungi. (2)
Print References
Howden, H.F. and O.L. Cartwright. 1963. Scarab beetles of the genus Onthophagus Latreille north of Mexico (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Proceedings of the United States National Museum 114: 1-135.
Harpootlian, pp. 20-21, gives a key to South Carolina species and illustrates several. (2)
Dillon, pp. 513-515 gives a key to common eastern North American species and illustrates several on plate XLIX. (3)
Internet References
Insects of Cedar Creek has photos of specimens male and female, O. orpheus and O. hecate.
Works Cited
1.Peterson Field Guides: Beetles
By Richard E. White
2.Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of South Carolina
By Phillip J. Harpootlian
3.A Manual of Common Beetles of Eastern North America
By Dillon, Elizabeth S., and Dillon, Lawrence