Rainbow Scarab

While out in the gardens last week, we were circled by an enormous and quite loud flying insect. In a move that shocked no one who has ever met me, I quickly scampered into the bushes to view and retrieve the insect after it landed.

This is the pretty lady that we found: a Rainbow Scarab (Phanaeus vindex) female. These lovely insects are also known as Dung Beetles. In nature, Dung Beetles seek out deposits of dung and use it as both food and a place to host their larva. Pairs of dung beetles collect dung and roll it into movable bits called brood balls. The beetles dig underground chambers where they store the brood balls and, after mating, the female will deposit her eggs. The beetle larvae feed and pupate under the ground and emerge as adults to begin the cycle again.

You can learn a great deal more about this species at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences website.

Rainbow Scarabs can be found from the east coast of North America west to the Rocky Mountains.