Visual Guide to Dung Beetles

Dung Beetles

Dung beetles are present on all New York beef and dairy farms. While they don’t have the most glamorous job in the livestock ecosystem, dung beetles play a vital role in improved soil health and pasture ecology. Dung beetles are a beneficial part of the agricultural integrated pest management toolkit, reducing populations of irritating horn and face flies by as much as 95 percent and contributing to healthy milk production in dairy and weight gain in beef cattle.

Dung Beetle Lifestyles

Dwelling, tunneling and rolling dung beetle species can all live in a pat together competing with horn and face flies for resources.

graphic of a pile of dung showing dung beetles that live under the pat, in the pat, and ones that carry their brood balls away from the pat. — Illustration by Hannah Tolz

illustration of beetles with brood balls in tunnels inside the a cow pat

Dwellers: Dung beetle species that "dwell" lay their eggs in brood balls they have constructed in the pat or just below the surface.

illustration of brood balls and beetles in tunnels under a pat

Tunnelers: Dung beetle species that "tunnel" lay their eggs in the brood balls they have constructed in tunnels below the pat.

illustration of a dung beetle rolling a brood ball away from the pat and burying it

Rollers: Dung beetle species that "roll" lay their eggs in a brood ball they have rolled away from the pat and buried.

Dung beetles of New York State

These are just some of the dung beetle species that you might find in New York State pastures.

Dwellers
Tunnelers
Other Predatory Beetles

Dwellers

Endocoprids

These species consume the manure as they tunnel within the dung pat and lay eggs directly in the manure or surrounding soil. Most dung beetles found in New York cattle pastures are dwellers.

A dung beetle with a black head and a shiny reddish brown elytra. The pronotum is also black with orange brown front corners. Small scutellum. The beetle is approximately 6-10mm in length.

A very tiny reddish-brown dung beetle. The entire body is shiney and reddish-brown with yellowish edges. The legs are the same color as the rest of the body although slightly more transparent. The elytra have areas of lighter tan that often form a V shape pointing towards the posterior end. The beetle is approximately 3.0 to 5.0 mm in length

A maculated dung beetle with distinct elytral markings. The head is black and often has a small singular bump in the center. The pronotum is black, smooth, not very glossy, and finely punctate. The elytra is mostly a tannish brown color with various dark brown markings. The markings vary but usually include two rectangular shapes on the top of either elytra with two chevrons closer to the posterior end followed by two triangular markings on the end. The beetle is approximately 4.5 to 5.5 mm in length.

A dark dung beetle with a black head and pronotum. The wing casing (elytra) is a very glossy dark brownish black. The legs appear reddish. The head is densely punctate. The scutellum forms a pentagon up close. The scutellum is small, roughly 1/10th to 1/8th the length of elytra. The beetle is approximately 3-6 mm in length.

A black dung beetle. The entire body is dark brown to black. The scutellum is dark and deeply punctured. The shape is flattened and elongated. The ridges in the elytra are deeper, more pronounced, and wider. The legs are slightly reddish. The beetle is approximately 3.2 to 4.6 mm in length.

A multi-toned brown dung beetle. There are two lighter tannish lines that run vertically down the wing case (elytra) where the wings open up. Towards the edges of the elytra, the coloring becomes much darker. The top of the pronotum appears dark brown and the edges a lighter tan brown. The pronotum is sparsely punctate and shiny. The head is dark but the top two triangle shaped corners are orange. The legs are a transparent reddish tan. The scutellum is small. The beetle is 3.5-5.8 mm in length.

A brown dung beetle. The head and pronotum are medium brown. The pronotum has a yellowish tan edge along the perimeter. The elytra is ribbed with alternating yellow brown. The legs are translucent and reddish brown. The entire beetle is approximately 5.0 to 6.0 mm in length.

A mostly black dung beetle, reddish at the end of the wing case (elytra) over abdomen. Scutellum is punctate and relatively large, roughly ¼ the length of the elytra. The beetle is approximately 4-6mm in length.

A tiny dark reddish brown dung beetle. The pronotum is moderately punctate. The body appears very shiny and the edges appear almost translucent reddish. The legs are the most red tinted part of the body. The scutellum is small and notably triangular in shape (in comparison to the pentagonal granarius). The beetle is approximately 3.6-5.2 mm in length.

A dark brown very pubescent dung beetle. The head is black. The pronotum is punctate, dark brown with a tan strip on the anterior end and covered in tiny tan colored hairs. The elytra is a lighter brown compared to the pronotum and head, and also covered in tiny tan colored hairs. The legs are a translucent reddish brown. The beetle is approximately 3.0 to 4.0 mm in length.

Tunnelers

Paracoprids

Onthophagus species are tunnelers. They consume the pat and burrow beneath it to bury brood balls. This group of nesting dung beetles also relies on male and female beetles to bury the brood ball to feed their young.

A dung beetle with a black head and black densely punctate pronotum. The wing case (elytra )is dark brown with a darker band along the elytral suture. The scutellum is relatively large, roughly ⅕ the length of the elytra. The beetle is approximately 6-8mm in length.

a lumpy brown scarab with a wing sticking out

Male

A dung beetle with a rough, dull, black head, pronotum, and wing casing (elytra). The pronotum has dense scattered tubercles which can be observed as small bumps covering the insect’s armor. The elytra also have these bumps which can be found with small white colored hairs. The scutellum is not visible. This female lacks the large projection seen in males and is significantly smaller in size– approximately 6-8mm.

Female

Male

Female

Other

Predatory Beetles

These predatory beetles are not scarabs but are often found in the same environments as dung beetles and offer some of the same benefits.

A small black hister beetle. The body is round and compact. The head is distinctly smaller than the pronotum but is not visible when the insect is at rest as seen in this photo. The entire specimen is black and glossy but the legs appear slightly reddish. The bottom of the wing case (elytra) ends abruptly revealing the last two abdominal segments. The legs are short but robust with small teeth that point outwards. There are also vertical indents on the elytra that follow the curve of the specimen's body.

Hister beetles, also known as clown beetles, range from 0.5 to 25 mm in length and commonly inhabit manure environments. This diverse group comprises numerous species, with some hister beetles functioning as effective predators of fly larvae within manure ecosystems.

A small black hister beetle. The body is round and compact. The head is distinctly smaller than the pronotum. There are visible mandibles which are almost the same size as the specimen's head. The antennae appear quite short with a compact round looking club on the end. The entire specimen is black and glossy but the legs appear slightly reddish. The bottom of the wing case (elytra) ends abruptly revealing the last two abdominal segments. The legs are short but robust with small teeth that point outwards.

The head of a hister beetle is distinctly smaller than the pronotum but is usually not visible when the insect is at rest and how they are typically found, as in the previous photo.

A smooth round beetle with a black head and pronotum. The wing case (elytra) is mostly black but the bottom ⅓ is a bright orangish brown dotted vertically with small black punctures. The antennas are quite short and club-like. The legs are quite robust with the tibiae having long and sharp spines that point in all directions.

Sphaeridium beetle larvae are predators of the maggots of the flies that breed in cow dung.

A very elongated beetle that has a glossy black body with the exception of the elytra. The elytra appear to be more dull and have a reddish hue. The antennas are filiform in shape. The body is sparsely covered in long spiky looking black hairs from the head, down the legs, and to the posterior end of the body. At this end there are also soft tail-like appendages that extend outwards. There are long clear iridescent wings that extend from below the elytra towards the end of the abdomen.

Rove beetles display a distinct inclination for preying on fly maggots and diverse organisms found in manure pats. Both the adult and larval stages of these beetles actively engage in predatory behavior, with their size spanning from 2 to 35 mm in length.

Dung Beetle Visual Guide Photo Credits

Photos and Illustrations by Hannah Tolz

Photos and Illustrations by Hannah Tolz, technician, NYSIPM

Dung beetle lifestyle illustrations.
Dung beetle photos: Aphodius fimetarius or pedellus, Colobopterus erraticus, Calamosternus granarius, Teuchestes fossor, Eupleurus subterraneus, Otophorus haemorrhoidalis, Alloblackburneus rubeolus, Acrossus rubripennisn Oscarinus rusicola, Labarrus pseudolividus (lividus), Onthophagus taurus male, Onthophagus taurus female, Onthophagus pennsylvanicus, Onthophagus hecate male, Onthophagus hecate female, Hister beetle with head tucked, Hister beetle with head visible, Sphaeridium beetle and Rove beetle.

Ken Wise

Senior Extension Associate

NYS Integrated Pest Management