 |
| A male scarab beetle (Oxysternon conspicillatum). (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Rainbow scarabs, Phanaeus vindex MacLeay, are members of the beetle family Scarabaeidae, which along with the family Geotrupidae, are commonly known as dung beetles (Bertone et al. 2004).
Scarab beetles were the objects of worship in Ancient Egypt and the more spectacular varieties are made into jewelry (Woodruff 1973).
The African dung-rolling beetle utilizes the sun, moon and stars as guides for walking in a straight line (Dacke et al. 2013).
The genus Phanaeus MacLeay is distributed primarily in Neotropical habitats with 100 species, but also in the Nearctic region with nine species and the West Indies with one.
Dung beetles serve an important role in pasture ecosystems, which has resulted in their introduction around the world. The rainbow scarab, Phanaeus vindex MacLeay, has a bright exterior of metallic green, blue, and red interspersed with golden reflections.
 |
| Harlequin Beetle |
No comments:
Post a Comment