Sacred Scarab

• sentidosAn African dung beetle of the same genus has been shown to keep a straight line while rolling its ball of dung by taking its bearings from the Milky Way at night, one of the few documented cases of stellar navigation in insects.
• The ancient Egyptians associated it with the god Khepri and the rising sun: they saw in the ball the beetle pushes across the sand an image of the solar disc crossing the sky.
• Dung beetles of the genus Scarabaeus steer while rolling their ball by the polarised light of the moon and, on moonless nights, by the glow of the Milky Way; navigation by the galaxy was demonstrated in the African species Scarabaeus satyrus.
• Before setting off it climbs onto the ball and turns on top of it in a dance that lets it take a bearing and hold a straight line.
• It is the sacred scarab of ancient Egypt. In the ball of dung it pushes the Egyptians saw the solar disc, and in the beetle the god Khepri, who rolled the sun across the sky each day; scarab amulets are among the most recognisable of Egyptian objects.
• A close relative navigates by the Milky Way: an experiment in 2013 showed that this African beetle rolls its ball in a straight line guided by the luminous band of our galaxy, the first animal shown to use the Milky Way for orientation.
• It rolls in a straight line on purpose: it is not heading for a destination, it is trying to get away from the dung heap as fast as possible before another beetle steals its ball.
• Before setting off it climbs on top of the ball and performs an orientation dance, rotating on the spot to take its bearings from the sky.
• Its front legs are toothed like spades and lack tarsi, adapted for digging and for shaping the ball.
• The female buries a brood ball and lays a single egg inside; the larva develops by eating the dung from within.

Skeleton type

Invertebrate - chitin exoskeleton (insect)

Habitat and environment

Mediterranean grassland, dehesa and sandy ground where livestock is present

Sources consulted: Wikipedia (es): Scarabaeus sacer

Best time: Spring and early summer, in grassland with livestock