page_title: Scarabaeus sacer
section_title: Human significance
hierarchical_section_title: Scarabaeus sacer / Human significance
caption_attribution_description: English: Wall relief with the cartouche of Thutmosis III on eighth pylon, Karnak temple of Amun-Ra, Egypt Français&#160;: Bas-relief d'un cartouche de Thoutmôsis III sur le coté est du huitième pylône, enceinte d'Amon-Ra de Karnak, Égypte
context_page_description: Scarabaeus sacer, common name Sacred scarab, is a species of dung beetle belonging to the family Scarabaeidae.
context_section_description: Scarabaeus sacer is the most famous of the scarab beetles. To the Ancient Egyptians, S. sacer was a symbol of Khepri, the early morning manifestation of the sun god Ra, from an analogy between the beetle's behaviour of rolling a ball of dung across the ground and Khepri's task of rolling the sun across the sky. They accordingly held the species to be sacred.
  The Egyptians also observed young beetles emerging from the ball of dung, from which they mistakenly inferred that the male beetle was able to reproduce without needing a female, simply by injecting his sperm into the ball of dung. From this, they drew parallels with their god Atum, who also begat children alone.
  Scarabaeus sacer was the species which first piqued the interest of William Sharp Macleay and drew him into a career in entomology.
caption: Carved relief of the cartouche representing Thutmose III on the wall of the Precinct of Amun-Re, Karnak
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