### animal | arthropod | insect | beetle:

Dung beetle
* Many dung beetles are good parents.
* Most dung beetles eat decompose vegetation
  - make tunnels in the soil
* Some dung beetles attract horseshoe bats
  - eat dungs
  - kill larvae
  - live in dungs
* are beetles that feed partly or exclusively on dung
  - coprophagous insects, meaning they eat excrement of other organisms
  - naturally present on every continent except Antarctica
  - nature's unsung garbage disposers
  - often exceedingly abundant
  - one of the few groups of insects that exhibit parental care for their young
  - really good at finding poop
  - scarab beetles that are black, brown or purple in color and have a flattened body
* come in a variety of colors, from dull and glossy black to metallic green and red.
  - dung of herbivores and omnivores , and prefer that produced by herbivores
* find fresh dung by smell.
* form spherical balls of animal excrement, which they roll with their bodies.
* get dung from cows.
* help the ecology in many ways by using the waste of other animals.
* improve the soil as well.
* live in many different habitats, including desert, farmland, forest, and grasslands
  - habitats , including desert, farmland , forest , and grasslands
* make creative use of animal feces.
* navigate using the Milky Way.
* play a remarkable role in agriculture.
* provision their nests with poop for their offspring.
* respond differently to changes in the environment.
* roll balls of animal dung along the ground
  - the dung into balls in which they lay their eggs in before burying
* serve as intermediate hosts.
* use several strategies for finding their stinky food
  - their poop balls to cool off
+ Dung beetle, Ecology and behavior: Beetles
  * Dung beetles live in many different habitats, including desert, farmland, forest, and grasslands. They do not like extremely cold or dry weather. They are found on all continents except Antarctica.
  * Dung beetles eat dung of herbivores and omnivores, and prefer that produced by herbivores. Many of them also feed on mushrooms and rotting leaves and fruits. One type living in South America, 'Deltochilum valgum', is a carnivore eating millipedes. Those that eat dung do not need to eat or drink anything else, because the dung provides all the necessary nutrients.

### animal | arthropod | insect | beetle | dung beetle:

Scarab
* Many scarabs are scavengers that help recycle dung, carrion, and decaying plants.
* are an ancient symbol of a beetle
* can be of any size.
* represent identity and independence in one's beliefs.

Elater
* are sensitive to changes in humidity.
* dry out, twist, jerk around and scatter the spores.
* eject spores.

### animal | arthropod | insect | beetle:

Female beetle
* Some female beetles feed aphids.
* begin laying eggs about one week following their emergence from the soil
  - several weeks after emergence
* chew pits in the bark of tree trunks and branches and lay their eggs there.
* have good instincts for finding the best places to keep the eggs.
* initiate attacks.
* lay batches of about two dozen orange-yellow eggs on the underside of the leaves
  - clusters of eggs in the soil
* lay eggs at the base of plants in the soil
  - directly into the soil during warm months
  - in damp areas with low vegetation
  - mainly under loose bark of the grapevine
  - on the lower portion of host trunks or on exposed roots
* lay their eggs on leaves or twigs where aphids are feeding
  - the undersides of leaves of plants
* remain with their brood until they mature.