How to tell if your beetle is a dung beetle

Dung
Beetles
of eastern NSW

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How to tell if your beetle is a dung beetle

To determine if your insect is a beetle, go to the Key to Insect Orders at the www.lucidcentral.org website.

Dung Beetles belong to the family Scarabaeidae, subfamily Scarabaeinae.
For your beetle to be a dung beetle, it must have all of the characteristics listed below.

Beetles belonging to the family Scarabaeidae are usually stout bodied beetles of moderate to large size, with:

labrum and mandibles not distinguishable from above (concealed by clypeus) (Fig 1);
lamellate antennal club present and antenna with less than 11 segments;
first visible abdominal segment split into two lateral triangular portions
fossorial legs, at least the front tibiae with strong teeth on the outer margin.

Beetles belonging to the Subfamily Scarabaeinae are ovate or barrel-shaped beetles, mainly black or brown in colour, with:

abdominal spiracles not visible when the elytra are closed;
the elytra usually leaving pygidium exposed;
hind tibiae with a single apical spur;
labrum and mandibles not distinguishable from below (concealed by maxillae and labium)
semi-circular head with clypeus fused to frons;
antennae with 8-9 segments;
mid coxae longitudinal or slightly convergent and separated by more than their width;
usually conspicuous sexual dimorphism, with head and/or pronotal armature or modified legs in the male.

There is one dung beetle genus, Demarziella, that superficially resembles the beetles from a different subfamily, the Aphodiinae.
In this case it is particularly important to check that all the characters listed above are present.