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I found this unfortunate beetle in the woods. He was on his last legs;
indeed, he could not straighten his legs. I took some pics and
returned him to where I found him. Bummer. It's hard to tell, but
this beautiful beetle is green metallic - that sort of
iridescence is difficult to photograph. |
Dung Beetle
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Dung beetles are those which feed partly or exclusively on
feces. Most of these species belong to the subfamilies
Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae. As most
species of Scarabaeinae feed exclusively on dung, that subfamily
is often dubbed true dung beetles. There are dung-feeding
beetles which belong to other families, such as the Geotrupidae
(the earth-boring dung beetle). The Scarabaeinae alone comprises
more than 5,050 species. Many dung beetles, known as rollers,
are noted for rolling dung into spherical balls, which are used
as a food source or brooding chambers. Other dung beetles, known
as tunnellers, bury the dung wherever they find it. A third
group, the dwellers, neither roll nor burrow; they simply live
in manure. |
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