The Sacred Scarab Beetle (Scarabaeus sacer) is a small Afro-Eurasian insect featured in the Africa Pack of Planet Zoo.
Zoopedia Description[]
General[]
Population in the Wild: Unknown
The sacred scarab beetle is a dung beetle native to the coastal dunes and marshes around the Mediterranean Sea, meaning it is found in North Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The head of the scarab beetle has 6 oblong projections and its front legs have an additional 4 each, giving the appearance of an arc of rays on the beetle's front end. The sacred scarab beetle is 10 to 25mm in size and has a shiny, black carapace.
Social[]
Sacred scarab beetles are solitary in the wild, but males and females will come together to create the dung ball for nesting and to compete for mates and dung balls.
Reproduction[]
Males and females create burrows for the storage of dung for feeding and egg laying. They dig these holes with their head and legs. When the female is ready to breed, she begins the process of making a dung ball for nesting. She will choose dung with a finer texture for this ball as opposed to the balls that she will usually build for feeding on. Males will also create dung balls with the intention of attracting a female. Dung balls will often change hands, as males will fight and steal dung balls and the female will follow the dung ball. The male that manages to retain the dung ball and put it safely in their burrow will be the one who wins mating rights.
Once in the burrow, the female will modify the shape of the ball by adding more dung on top and creating a pear shape. She will create a small tunnel through the tip of the dung ball and lay her egg in the center of the dung. She will then abandon the burrow.
After several days, larvae hatch from the eggs and feed on the dung ball. After 1 to 4 weeks, they will pupate. Sometime after 4 weeks, a young adult beetle will emerge (time may change dependent on temperature/humidity etc.). Beetles do not reproduce straight away, but will spend time feeding and allowing their gonads to develop. This may take several months bases on environmental conditions and food availability.
Animal Care[]
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Trivia[]
Zoopedia Fun Facts[]
- Sacred scarab beetles use the projections on their head and front legs to shape dung into spheres.
- Sacred scarab beetles can roll balls of dung that are 50 times their weight.
- Sacred scarab beetles roll dung by pushing it with their back legs.
- Sacred scarab beetle was seen as a representation of the Sun God Ra by Ancient Egyptians, who likened the rolling of dung balls to the sun rolling across the sky.
- The larvae of sacred scarab beetles play an important ecosystem role in recycling the nutrients from detritus and dung.
Gallery[]
