Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

dung beetle

Did you mean: dung beetle (Zoology), dung beetle, Dung beetle, Scarabaeinae

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: dung beetle
 
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

Any member of one subfamily (Scarabaeinae) of scarab beetles, which shapes manure into a ball (sometimes as large as an apple) with its scooperlike head and paddle-shaped antennae. They vary from 0.2 to more than 1 in. (5 – 30 mm) long. In early summer it buries itself and the ball and feeds on it. Later in the season the female deposits eggs in dung balls, on which the larvae will later feed. They are usually round with short wing covers (elytra) that expose the end of the abdomen. They can eat more than their own weight in 24 hours and are considered helpful because they hasten the conversion of manure to substances usable by other organisms.

For more information on dung beetle, visit Britannica.com.

Search unanswered questions...

Enter a word or phrase...
All Community Q&A Reference topics

 
 

Did you mean: dung beetle (Zoology), dung beetle, Dung beetle, Scarabaeinae


 

Copyrights:

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more

Related answers
» More
 
Answer these
» More

Mentioned in

» More» More