Dung beetle
Informal group of insects
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Why this is trending
Interest in “Dung beetle” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-07-21.
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Key Takeaways
- Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces.
- As most species of Scarabaeinae feed exclusively on feces, that subfamily is often dubbed true dung beetles .
- The Scarabaeinae alone comprises more than 5,000 species.
- Evolution Dung beetles are not a single taxonomic group or clade (they are not monophyletic); dung feeding is found in several families of beetles, so the behaviour cannot be assumed to have evolved only once.
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Source summary
WikipediaDung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. All species of dung beetle belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea, most of them to the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles). As most species of Scarabaeinae feed exclusively on feces, that subfamily is often dubbed true dung beetles. There are dung-feeding beetles which belong to other families, such as the Geotrupidae (the earth-boring dung beetle). The Scarabaeinae alone comprises more than 5,000 species.
As they do not belong to a single group sharing a common ancestor, there is a diversity in the behavior of dung beetles, including the iconic dung-rolling behavior revered by Ancient Egyptians as the god Khepri rolling the sun across the sky.
Dung beetles are not a single taxonomic group or clade (they are not monophyletic); dung feeding is found in several families of beetles, so the behaviour cannot be assumed to have evolved only once. The taxa considered to be dung beetles are within the Scarabaeoidea:
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