Automatically translated. This page was translated automatically from German and has not been reviewed by our editors.Show original
Beetles & arachnids
Sacred scarab
Sacred scarab · Scarabaeus sacer
The sacred scarab shapes perfect balls from dung and skilfully rolls them backwards across Africa’s sandy ground.
Fact file
- Size
- Adult beetle is 2.5 to 4 centimetres long, robust body shape is striking
- Males and females
- Sexes are hardly distinguishable externally, females are usually built a little more robustly
- Sounds
- Transmits vibrations in the ground but does not produce any audible calls
- Diet
- Feeds mainly on the dung of large herbivores
- Offspring
- The female lays a single egg in the dung ball, which is eaten from the inside by the larva
How to identify Sacred scarab
The sacred scarab is striking for its shiny, deep black shell with a subtle blue shimmer in the sun. The front thorax area is often more powerfully built than the rest of the rather rounded body.
It reaches a length of about 2.5 to 4 centimetres and has short, broad antennae. The forelegs are adapted as powerful digging tools. Its hind legs look long and curved and serve as levers when rolling the dung balls.
More in the app
With Wildful Stories+ you also get in the app:
- general viewing tips
Where Sacred scarab live
Namibia
- Kwando Core Area
- Brandberg
- Buffalo Core Area
- Bwabwata Nationalpark
- Dolomite & Olifantsrus
- Erongo Gebirge
- Halali
- Hoanib
- Kalahari
- Mahango Core Area
- Mudumu Nationalpark
- Namib-Naukluft Nationalpark
- NamibRand Nature Reserve
- Namutoni
- Nkasa Rupara National Park
- Okaukuejo
- Palmwag
- Rundu
- Spitzkoppe
- Twyfelfontein
- Waterberg Plateau
- Windhoek
Discover Sacred scarab on your trip.
The app shows you where and when to see wildlife along your route.
