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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing scarab beetles. There are around 30,000 classified, living species in the scarab family. Some well known scarab species include dung beetles, hercules beetles, rhinoceros beetles, and June beetles. These insects live in nearly every terrestrial habitat on earth and range throughout all the continents except Antarctica. The easiest way to identify an adult scarab is to look at its antennae. Scarabs have 9 to 10 segmented antennae composed of plates that can fan out into a club-like shape or a leaf-like shape. Just check out the antennae on this May beetle! Young scarabs in their larval form can be difficult to distinguish from one another. They are referred to as white grubs due to their color. Sometimes they may appear darker at one end, but that’s just a build up of feces. Scarab grubs are c-shaped, have red heads and legs, and are most often found near the roots they eat.

Scarab diets span all kinds of foods depending on the species. Some, like the aforementioned dung beetles, eat the solid waste product of other animals. Others eat fruit, sap, decaying flesh, other insects, and even snail slime! As larvae, scarabs may eat roots and decomposing material. In turn, scarabs are eaten by bats, birds, reptiles, and other larger animals.

This group of insects boasts some of the heaviest living insects on earth. Goliath beetle larvae can weigh up to 3.5 ounces (100g) which is more than many bat species! In length, scarabs range from mere millimeters to over six inches (152mm)!

Scarabs begin life as an egg. Their eggs are laid underground, in rotting vegetation, in dung, and more. In these enclosed spaces, scarab larvae hatch and begin eating. They have to eat a lot especially if they want to have impressive tools for later. For example, the size of a rhinoceros beetle’s horn is determined by how much it eats as a larva! Scarab larvae may remain in their underground lairs for just a few months up to four years depending on the species. In areas where the ground freezes during the winter, the larvae burrow deep and spend their winter below the frost line. When conditions are right, be it warming weather or heavy rainfall, the grubs will pupate and later emerge as adults.

Many adult scarab beetles are fossorial, meaning they’re adapted for digging and living underground. Some put in the effort themselves, but others may take up residence with other animals. There are those who hang out with gophers; others who nest with squirrels, and some who live with prairie dogs. With a group this large, there are all kinds of fascinating adaptations to discover!

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