Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera, in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 described species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described insects and 25% of all known animal life-forms; new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 to 2.1 million total species. Found in almost every habitat except the sea and the polar regions, they interact with their ecosystems in several ways: beetles often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are serious agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, while others such as Coccinellidae eat aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that damage crops.
The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are 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, and some reduced to lower ranks. The subfamilies listed in this article are in accordance with those in Bouchard (2011).
Kleptoparasitism is a form of feeding in which one animal takes prey or other food that was caught, collected, or otherwise prepared by another animal, including stored food. Examples of this last case include cuckoo bees, which lay their eggs on the pollen masses made by other bees, or the hosts of parasitic or parasitoid wasps. The term is also used to describe the stealing of nest material or other inanimate objects from one animal by another.
Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. Some species of dung beetles can bury dung 250 times their own mass in one night.
In West Africa, the forest zone refers to the southern part of the region once covered by tropical rainforest. Sometimes this region is referred to as Guinea to distinguish it from the grassland-covered Sudan, drier Sahel and per-arid Sahara.
The Heteroceridae, or variegated mud-loving beetles, are a widespread and relatively common family of beetles. They occur on every continent except for Antarctica.
The scarab beetle subfamily Scarabaeinae consists of species collectively called true dung beetles. Most of the beetles of this subfamily feed exclusively on dung. However, some may feed on decomposing matter including carrion, decaying fruits and fungi. Dung beetles can be placed into three structural guilds based on their method of dung processing namely rollers, dwellers and tunnelers Dung removal and burial by dung beetles result in ecological benefits such as soil aeration and fertilization; improved nutrient cycling and uptake by plants, increase in Pasture quality, biological control of pest flies and intestinal parasites and secondary seed dispersal. Well-known members include the genera Scarabaeus and Sisyphus, and Phanaeus vindex.
Scarabaeus sacer, common name sacred scarab, is the type species of dung beetles in its genus and the family Scarabaeidae.
A large number of arthropods are associated with sloths. These include biting and blood-sucking flies such as mosquitoes and sandflies, triatomine bugs, lice, ticks and mites. The sloth’s fur forms a micro-ecozone inhabited by green algae and hundreds of insects. Sloths have a highly specific community of commensal beetles, mites and moths.
Catharsius molossus is a species of dung beetle of the family Scarabaeidae.
Catharsius gorilla is a species of African dung beetles of the family Scarabaeidae. This species is widespread in the tropical African regions.
Scelophysa trimeni, commonly known as the blue monkey beetle, is a species of scarab beetles in the monkey beetle subfamily Rutelinae.
Sulcophanaeus imperator is a species of beetles belonging to the family Scarabaeidae.
Sulcophanaeus is a genus of beetles belonging to the family Scarabaeidae. This genus has a Neotropical distribution.
Onthophagus vacca is a species of dung beetles in the Onthophagini tribe of the wider scarab beetle family, Scarabaeidae.
Oxysternon festivum is a species of dung-beetle of the scarab beetle family.
Oxysternon is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. It can be distinguished from all other phanaeines and scarabaeine dung beetles by a long, spiniform extension of the anterior angle of the metasternum. Most taxa vary in color and color pattern, and are more commonly found in tones of green, often infused with yellow or coppery highlights. All species appear very smooth or glassy smooth to the unaided eye.
Teuchestes fossor is a species of dung beetle native to the Palaearctic, but is also widespread in North America following accidental introduction and naturalisation during European settlement. Both adults and larvae are coprophagous, differentiating resource use by respectively feeding on the liquid and fibrous fractions of herbivore dung. It can be readily collected from the dung of livestock, and other large mammals This species is known to support a number of key ecosystem services in cattle pastures.
Coprini is a tribe of scarab beetles, in the dung beetle subfamily (Scarabaeinae). Scholtz et al. describe them as tunnellers that are shiny black, of moderate to large size and with a strongly convex shape. They also, however state that the grouping based on these characteristics has little phylogenetic validity, and the placement of several genera in this and related tribes is likely to change.
Bodiloides ictericus is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae, found in the Palearctic. It is one of more than 50 species in the genus Bodiloides.
