Description and Biology
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The rainbow scarab, Phanaeus vindex, is a dark beetle with bright metallic green or green and blue wing covers and with iridescent reds interspersed with golden reflections on the thorax. These beetles are 1/2 to 7/8 inch long. Males have a horn that recurves back over the thorax. This species is a dung beetle that is beneficial in disposing of animal solid wastes relatively quickly. Males and females tunnel under a dung pat and form a tunnel down into the soil. The beetles push the excavated soil into a mound beside the dung pat. Females form a ball of dung, the "brood ball," from the bottom of the pat, and both beetles push it down the tunnel where the female eventually lays an egg on the ball. They then dig an adjacent tunnel and stock it with balls of dung as well for food for the next generation of rainbow scarabs to feed on before the new beetles emerge. A tiny grub hatches and feeds within the ball of dung. It molts as it grows into a typical C-shaped white grub. Rainbow scarabs spend the winter in their tunnels and also feed on the provisions in adjacent tunnels.
The rainbow scarab has iridescent reds and greens.
The rainbow scarab has iridescent reds and greens.
Publication date: May 10, 2014
Revised: Oct. 11, 2019
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FAQs
Phanaeus vindex
These beetles are so pretty it's hard to believe they are dung beetles. Despite their striking appearance, rainbow scarabs are rarely seen, even though they are fairly common.
What is an interesting fact about the rainbow scarab? ›
Perhaps the most interesting fact about the rainbow scarab, Pecenka added, is their natural propensity to create microecosystems within dung piles, building infrastructure that resembles roads and tunnels. “The rainbow scarab will make a highway system through a dung pat, complete with tunnels,” Pecenka said.
What is the lifespan of a rainbow scarab? ›
Sandy soils were found to be deleterious to Phanaeus vindex by causing larval desiccation (Bertone et al. 2006, Fincher 1973). In the laboratory, the total time from egg to adult emergence is two to six months (Fincher 1972). Under laboratory conditions, Phanaeus vindex adults can live for over a year.
What is the rainbow scarab diet? ›
vindex is member of the Scarabaeinae sub-family, they are considered to be “true dung beetles” and feed exclusively on fecal excrement through all stages of their life cycle. While they do prefer to feed on dung from pasture animals, rainbow scarabs do sometimes feed on wild animal feces in more forestal areas.
What is the rarest bug in the world? ›
The Lord Howe Island Phasmid or Land Lobster, Dryococelus australis, may be the rarest insect in the world and is possibly also the rarest invertebrate.
What is the rarest bug in? ›
Tree Lobster (Dryococelus Australis)
One of the rarest bugs known to experts, the tree lobster was classified as extinct until the year 2000 when less than 24 of them were discovered by scientists on a research expedition.
Can the rainbow scarab fly? ›
Rainbow scarabs are usually associated with pastures although they fly about and may be found some distance from the nearest cattle or horses.
What is the common name for rainbow scarab? ›
Phanaeus vindex, the rainbow scarab or rainbow scarab beetle is a North American dung beetle, with a range from the eastern US to the Rocky Mountains.
Where are rainbow scarabs found? ›
The rainbow scarab is native to and found extensively in, the eastern United States from Massachusetts to South Dakota in the north and Texas to Florida in the south (Woodruff 1973). The Florida Keys and the Everglades are the only regions in Florida where the rainbow scarab has not been found (Woodruff 1973).
How does a rainbow scarab protect itself? ›
The elytra protect the scarab from predators. The abdomen of the scarab is mostly hidden by the elytra. Scarabs breathe using their spiracles, and these are located on the sides of the abdomen.
The life cycle includes the egg (laid by the female scarab beetle), larvae which feed and grow and are C-shaped, pupae which are similar to the cocoon stage in moths, and adults which mate and begin the cycle again. Scarab larvae feed on roots, decaying plant material, dung (or poop), and carrion (dead animals).
Does scarab still exist? ›
Scarabs are a mesmerizingly diverse family of beetle found in every part of the world except in the oceans and on Antarctica. There are about 30,000 scarab species comprising about 10 percent of all known beetles. The June bug pinging incessantly off your front porch light is a type of scarab.
What is the behavior of the rainbow scarab? ›
The rainbow scarab is considered a tunneler. This means that both sexes will create tubes within a dung pat that come together into a chamber below the ground's surface. They will put their brood (young) in this chamber and roll dung balls through the tunnels for their young to feed on.
Is the rainbow scarab a decomposer? ›
Rainbow Scarab Beetle (Phanaeus vindex) male
Native beneficial. One of the decomposers of animal waste.
Do scarab beetles lay eggs? ›
Signs/Damage of Scarab Beetles: Depending on the species, adult scarab beetles emerge from the soil to mate and lay eggs any time from late spring into summer.
What is the rarest scarab in Adopt Me? ›
The Giant Blue Scarab is an ultra-rare pet in Adopt Me! that was added on January 20, 2022, along with the Desert Weather Update.
Is A Rainbow beetle rare? ›
The species has not been found since 1980 in Cwm Idwal, and some reports consider the Snowdon population of about 1000 adults to be in "serious decline", while others say that there is no evidence of a decline, but that the species may always have been rare.
Are rainbow scarabs strong? ›
They are large (about ¾ inch long), stocky, and strong.
