Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Several groups formerly treated within Scarabaeidae have been upgraded to family rank [taxonomy discussed in
(1)]
Explanation of Names
Scarabaeidae
Latreille 1802
The English
scarab is derived via French from Latin
scarabeus, meaning ‘beetle’
(2) –- compare Greek καραβοσ, καραβιοσ ‘a horned beetle,... also a type of crab’;
cf. Sanskrit
karabha ‘locust’. The words
scarab and
carabid may be related; a connection of the Latin and Greek words with Egyptian
kheprer ‘dung beetle’ (a scarab in the narrow sense; compare
Khepri) had been suggested (Partridge 1958)
Numbers
~28,000 spp. worldwide
(1), ~1700 spp. in ~125 genera in the Nearctic region
(3)(4), of which ~1400 north of Mexico
(5), ~240 in Canada & Alaska
(6)
Overview of our faunaFamily SCARABAEIDAE
Size
in our area, 2-62 mm; worldwide, up to 160 mm.
Dynastes is the heaviest beetle of our fauna
Identification
protibia widened, with outer edges toothed
antennae 10- or 9-segmented
last 3-7
antennomeres lamellate, forming a club that can be spread or folded
tarsal formula usually 5-5-5; protarsi may be absent (0-5-5)
Elytra not shortened or widely divergent at apex
Eighth morphological abdominal segment lacking spiracle
Food
Adults take a variety of foods, many feeding on fungus, dung, carrion, or other decomposing matter, some on sap, pollen/nectar, fruit, foliage; a few are agricultural pests, others, important pollinators. Larvae typically feed on decomposing matter: dung, carrion, etc., or live in soil and feed on roots -- some of these are agricultural pests.
Life Cycle
Scarabaeiform larva & pupa
See Also
Tenebrionids may look like dung beetles:
Print References
Menees, J. H. 1957. Sex identification in some larvae of Scarabaeidae. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 52(7): 97-100. (
Biodiversity Heritage Library)