The megadiverse Scarabaeoidea (scarabs, stags, and bess beetles) consists of over 31,000 species that are distributed worldwide and includes many important agricultural pests, agents of biological control of dung and dung flies, important pollinators, and species used as habitat bioindicators (Jameson and Ratcliffe, 2002Jameson and Ratcliffe, 2002:
Jameson M, Ratcliffe B. 2002. Introduction. Series Scarabaeiformia Crowson 1960 (=Lamellicornia), superfamily Scarabaeoidea Latreille 1802, pp. 1-5. In, Arnett, Thomas, Skelley, and Frank (eds.), American Beetles. Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. Volume 2. CRC Press, New York.; Ratcliffe, et al., 2002). Despite their ecological, evolutionary, and economic significance, there is an overwhelming lack of expertise on these insects. The lack of knowledge is of concern because many species are invasiveinvasive:
a species that has recently arrived to a new location, usually via human activity, causing notable economic and/or ecological damage
agricultural and economic pests.
Scarab beetles include beneficial and destructive species. The group is ecologically diverse with species that feed on roots, fruits, leaves, and rotting wood; those that feed on vertebrate carcasses, dung, and humushumus:
soil rich in organic matter
; and those that live in the nests of vertebrates and invertebrates. The group is environmentally important, with many species of conservation, agricultural, biocontrol, cultural, and ecoservice value.
Ecosystem services provided by scarab dung beetles are estimated at over $380 million in the U.S. (Losey and Vaughan, 2006Losey and Vaughan, 2006:
Losey JE, Vaughan M. 2006. The economic value of ecological services provided by insects. Bioscience 56 (4): 311-323.). In the cattle industry, dung beetles assist with the removal of dung, allowing for growth of consumable plant material, increased nitrogen availability for forage, and reduction of pestiferous flies and parasites. Some scarabs serve as effective plant pollinators and are essential keystone species in their native habitats, such as monkey beetle chafers in southern Africa, Cetonia scarabs on European Viburnum bushes, and masked chafers that pollinate tropical palms and arums. Other scarabs, however, can be economically and agriculturally destructive.
Authors: J.B. Dunlap, M.L. Jameson, E.L. Engasser, P.E. Skelley, A.J. Redford
Content last updated February 2016
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