Most species of scarab beetles (Order Coleoptera, family Scarabaeidae) range from 0.5 to over 2 inches long. Some tropical species can grow up to 6" long! Though many scarab beetles are black, brown, or otherwise darkly colored, many are iridescent and others are very brightly colored. Both male and female Strategus antaeus are brown or shiny black. Plant-eating scarab beetles, like Strategus antaeus, lay their eggs in the ground so that the larvae can hatch out of the eggs and immediately feed on roots while the adults are feeding on the above-ground parts of plants. The males of many of the species, including Strategus antaeus, have horns that extend past the head of the beetle. Though these horns make these beetles look ferocious, Strategus antaeus is harmless to people.
Strategus antaeus is not a dung beetle like many of the different species of scarab beetles, but instead feeds on plant materials such as grasses, foliage, fruits, and flowers. Also known as a "leaf chafer," this beetle will feed on many different plants instead of preferring one or two specific species.
There are more than 30,000 species in the family Scarabaeidae found worldwide. About 1,200 of these species are found in the United States. Strategus antaeus is found in the eastern United States,
The scarab was a symbol of great power in Egyptian mythology, representing the Egyptian sun god, Ra. It was said that the beetle rolled the sun into the sky at the dawn of each day, and he pushed the sun away at night and buried it until the next morning. Since many scarab beetles are dung beetles that push around balls of dung many times their own size and weight, this myth probably grew out of the determination and strength that they must possess to complete this task. The beetle was revered as so sacred that the Egyptians put individual beetles on unique stones and wore them as valuable jewelry. Amulets in Egypt portrayed scarab beetles rolling dung balls around and then reemerging from their holes in the ground. The scarab beetle then became the symbol of spontaneous generation, new life, and resurrection. The scarab beetle was portrayed in Egyptian hieroglyphics along with man, woman, health, life, power, and kings and queens, indicating the importance of this insect to Egyptian people.
Mercy Pearce & Andrea Mikol
Insect Biology and Diversity (ENT / BIOSC 301)
Fall 2004
