Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
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Phanaeini
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Rainbow Scarabs (Phanaeus)
Genus
Phanaeus
- Rainbow Scarabs
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia (Animals)
Phylum
Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum
Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class
Insecta (Insects)
Order
Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder
Polyphaga
Superfamily
Scarabaeoidea
Family
Scarabaeidae (Scarab Beetles)
Subfamily
Scarabaeinae (Dung Beetles)
Tribe
Phanaeini
Genus
Phanaeus
(Rainbow Scarabs)
Explanation of Names
Phanaeus
Macleay
1819
'light bearer'
Numbers
6‒7 spp. in our area, >80 total
(
1
)
Identification
See
(
2
)
• key to SC species in
(
3
)
Range
primarily neotropical; in our area:
P. adonis
Cameron Co., TX
P. amithaon
s.-c. AZ (low to mid elevations)
P. difformis
s. midwestern US, most common in coastal TX
P. igneus
coastal se US (VA‒FL‒LA)
(
2
)
P. quadridens
NM, se.AZ (mid-altitude)
P. triangularis
se.US barely into e.TX
P. texensis
TX (treated by most as a ssp. on the previous)
P. vindex
US west to WY‒AZ
Food
mammalian dung
(
4
)
Life Cycle
Adults of
P. vindex
excavate a cavity and form a dung ball underneath a dung mass (See
Univ. of Nebraska page.
)
Works Cited
1.
Catalogue of Life
2.
Revision of Phanaeus MacLeay, A New World genus of scarabaeine dung beetles
Edmonds, W.D. 1994. 1994. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Contributions to Science 443.
3.
Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of South Carolina
Phillip J. Harpootlian. 2001. Clemson University Public Service.
4.
American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea
Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.). 2002. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.
Contributed by
Cotinis
on 18 May, 2004 - 5:58am
Additional contributions by
Beatriz Moisset
,
Phillip Harpootlian
,
Mike Quinn
,
Dave Almquist
,
v belov
,
Tyler Hedlund
Last updated 5 February, 2024 - 6:15pm