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Scarab beetle
Central European scarab beetles with some anatomical details. Edmund Reitter's Fauna Germanica, 1908
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Euarthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Superfamily:	Scarabaeoidea
Family:	Scarabaeidae Latreille, 1802
Subfamilies[1]
Aclopinae Blanchard, 1850 Aegialiinae Laporte, 1840 Allidiostomatinae Arrow, 1940 Aphodiinae Leach, 1815 Aulonocneminae Janssens, 1946 Cetoniinae Leach, 1815 Chironinae Blanchard, 1845 Dynamopodinae Arrow, 1911 Dynastinae MacLeay, 1819 Eremazinae Iablokoff-Khnzorian, 1977 Melolonthinae Leach, 1819 Orphninae Erichson, 1847 Phaenomeridinae Erichson, 1847 Rutelinae MacLeay, 1819 Scarabaeinae Latreille, 1802 Termitotroginae Wasmann, 1918 † Cretoscarabaeinae Nikolajev, 1995 † Lithoscarabaeinae Nikolajev, 1992 † Prototroginae Nikolajev, 2000

The family Scarabaeidae as currently defined consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide, often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several subfamilies have been elevated to family rank (e.g., Pleocomidae, Glaresidae, Glaphyridae, Ochodaeidae, and Geotrupidae), and some reduced to lower ranks. The subfamilies listed in this article are in accordance with those in Bouchard (2011).^[1]

Description

Sacred scarab in a cartouche of Thutmosis III from Karnak temple of Amun-Ra, Egypt

Scarabs are stout-bodied beetles, many with bright metallic colours, measuring between 1.5 and 160 mm. They have distinctive, clubbed antennae composed of plates called lamellae that can be compressed into a ball or fanned out like leaves to sense odours. The front legs of many species are broad and adapted for digging. In some groups males (and sometimes females) have prominent horns on the head and/or pronotum to fight over mates or resources.^[2]

A scarab beetle grub from Australia.

The C-shaped larvae, called grubs, are pale yellow or white. Most adult beetles are nocturnal, although the flower chafers (Cetoniinae) and many leaf chafers (Rutelinae) are active during the day. The grubs mostly live underground or under debris, so are not exposed to sunlight. Many scarabs are scavengers that recycle dung, carrion, or decaying plant material.^[3] Others, such as the Japanese beetle, are plant-eaters.

Some of the well-known beetles from the Scarabaeidae are Japanese beetles, dung beetles, June beetles, rose chafers (Australian, European, and North American), rhinoceros beetles, Hercules beetles and Goliath beetles.

Several members of this family have structurally coloured shells which act as left-handed circular polarisers; this was the first-discovered example of circular polarization in nature.^[4]

Ancient Egypt

In Ancient Egypt, the dung beetle now known as Scarabaeus sacer (formerly Ateuchus sacer) was revered as sacred. Egyptian amulets representing the sacred scarab beetles were traded throughout the Mediterranean world.^[2]

See also

• List of genera of Scarabaeidae


• Scarab artifact


• Grapevine beetle


• 
  Dung beetle - Scarabaeidae dung beetles play an important role in temperate and tropical environments

References

Further reading

External links