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The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 35,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change.
Scarabaeus ambiguus is a large black species of scarab beetle with an adult length of about 24 mm (0.9 in). The forelegs are adapted for squeezing and manipulating loose dung to form balls. The forelegs are adapted for squeezing and manipulating loose dung to form balls.
Phanaeus vindex, also known as a rainbow scarab (like other members in its genus [1]), is a North American species of true dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae. It is found in eastern and central United States ( Florida and New England to Arizona and Wyoming ) and northern Mexico .
These beetles are typically between 15–35 mm (0.6–1.4 in) in length. The majority of species have bright shiny green upperparts, but metallic silver and gold are also common colors (species with all-silver or all-golden upperparts only occur in Central and South America), and a few can be metallic reddish.
The size of the horn is a good indicator of nutrition and physical health. [5] The body of an adult rhinoceros beetle is covered by a thick exoskeleton. A pair of thick wings lie atop another set of membranous wings underneath, allowing the rhinoceros beetle to fly, although not very efficiently owing to its large size.
Common names for this genus and many other related genera in the subfamily Melolonthinae are May beetles, June bugs, and July beetles. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] They range in size from 12 to 35 mm (0.47 to 1.38 in) [ 1 ] [ 2 ] and are blackish or reddish-brown in colour, without prominent markings, and often rather hairy ventrally.
Scarabaeus sacer is the most famous of the scarab beetles. [14] 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. [15]
A "scarabaeus" is also a now outdated term (OED 2) for an object in the form of a scarab beetle in art. The scarab was a popular form of amulet in Ancient Egypt, [3] and in ancient Greek art engraved gems were often carved as scarabs on the rest of the stone behind the main flattish face, which was used for sealing documents. [4]