Lamarcks Sacred Scarab vs Six-spined Engraver Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Lamarcks Sacred Scarab Six-spined Engraver Beetle
Scientific Name Kheper lamarcki Ips calligraphus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Scarabaeidae Curculionidae (Scolytinae)
Size 35-48 mm 3.5–6.5 mm
Habitat Grasslands Forests
Diet Dung Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions East Africa, Southern Africa Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Lamarcks Sacred Scarab

A large glossy black dung beetle with subtle purple and green iridescence. It constructs large brood balls from elephant dung and rolls them impressive distances. Females provision a single brood ball with great care for each offspring.

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Did You Know?

A female may spend several days carefully shaping a single pear-shaped brood ball, coating it with a layer of soil for insulation.

Six-spined Engraver Beetle

A pine-infesting bark beetle found across eastern North America. It is named for the six spine-like teeth on its rear wing covers.

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Did You Know?

Males excavate a nuptial chamber under the bark where they mate with up to four females.