The sunrise god in the dung ball: Can dung beetles really come back to life?

Scarabs usually refer to the sacred dung beetle (Scarabaeus sacer, Linnaeus, 1758). This black beetle, which carries the beliefs of ancient Egyptian civilization, was named sacer (sacred) by Carl von Linné, the father of modern taxonomy; from then on, the "scarab" worshipped as a god by the ancient Egyptians specifically refers to a species. In the long history of Egyptian civilization, the name "scarab" is more likely a general term used by the ancient Egyptians to refer to a variety of large dung beetles.

Roll the shit hard | Bogomaz Mykhailo / Wikimedia Commons

The sunrise god in the dung ball

Since ancient times, scarabs have been rolling dung balls on the land nourished by the Nile, reminding the ancient Egyptians of the sun. They die with the dung balls and are reborn from them. It is believed that these scarabs are only males, and they inject semen into the dung balls they make, and are reborn through them; in ancient Egyptian mythology, the same is true for Khepri, the god of the sun god Ra, who symbolizes the sunrise. Obviously, this comes from the ancient Egyptians' observation that scarabs rolled dung balls and buried them underground. After more than a month, new scarabs broke out of the ground and were born, just like the cycle of sunset and sunrise.

The ancient Egyptians were so obsessed with these dung-ball-rolling dung beetles that they even noticed the tiny segments on the scarab's feet and proposed that the scarab had 30 toes, representing the 30 days of a month. But why do dung beetles have 30 "toes"? One explanation I saw was that the 30 "toes" include the four teeth and one spur on the tibia of each front leg of the dung beetle, and the five segments on the tarsus of the middle and hind legs.

Scarab sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art | Picryl

There are 4 teeth and 1 spur on the tibia of the front foot, 5 tarsal segments on the midfoot, and 5 tarsal segments on the hind foot, a total of 15 "toes", plus the symmetrical other side, that's 30. The tarsal segments of the front feet are short and difficult to observe, so they are not counted.

The ancient Egyptians attached great importance to scarabs. Every day, the sacred sun god pushed the sun across the sky like a dung beetle rolling a dung ball. On the earth, the dung beetles rolled the dung balls and buried them underground. When their offspring matured, they emerged from the surface, which also brought hope of rebirth to the ancient Egyptians and became a symbol of the immortal soul . People made ornaments in the shape of scarabs and wore them on the chests of the dead so that they could be reborn smoothly like these beetles.

Hard work in Egypt | Internet Archive Book Images / Flickr

Eat shit, occupying a position is very important

Scarabs certainly never knew the reverence of people. In modern taxonomy, scarabs are a member of the Scarabaeidae family, Scarabaeinae order, Insecta order, Coleoptera order, Scarabaeidae order, Scarabaeinae order . Most dung beetles have a rounded shape and dark body color. The invisible scutellum on the mesothorax of dung beetles is an important feature that distinguishes them from other scarabaeidae insects, but there are rare exceptions.

Cetonia aurata, note the small triangle between the wings, that's the scutellum | Udo Schmidt / Flickr

Scarab beetles have no visible scutellum | Sarefo / Wikimedia Commons

The scarab beetle, which is 2 to 4 cm long, has a standard "dung beetle-like" appearance, with a black, bulging body; there are four large teeth on the shovel-like structure on the front side of the head, which can cooperate with the front legs to divide feces and make fecal balls . The scarab beetle's front leg tibia has four iconic large teeth. Because the front legs need to dig frequently, the weak tarsus is very short and easy to ignore; the middle and hind legs are strong and inward-curved, allowing them to control the smooth fecal balls when rolling. Like most beetles, the narrow, long and powerful hind wings are folded under the sturdy elytra. The hind wings provide the scarab with excellent flying ability, so that it can quickly get to the "convenient" mammals and eat feces. It can also receive hot food.

The scarab beetle rolling dung balls on the ground reminded the ancient Egyptians of the rising and setting of the sun in the sky. In China, when people mention dung beetles, they also think of the behavior of rolling dung balls. However, not all dung beetles have the habit of rolling dung balls . Among the common dung beetle groups, only a few can roll dung balls, while more species directly dig holes under the dung and bury the prepared dung balls in the soil.

Dung beetles also have very beautiful species, such as Phanaeus vindex, which lives in the eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains | Geoff Gallice / Wikimedia Commons

Living in food (eggs)

Whether they roll dung balls or not, most dung beetles at least make dung balls to raise their young, and scarabs are no exception. Scarabs use their feet to split and compact a piece of dung they like, making a compact and dense dung ball for their young . Usually, the male rolls the dung ball - often in the direction of the dung they flew in search of - while the female follows, but there are also cases where the male and female help push the dung together, which is more common in extremely hot weather. After rolling the dung ball to a location that the scarab pair "deems" suitable, the parents dig a cave to bury the dung ball in the ground.

The female will make an opening at the top of the dung ball to leave space for the egg chamber and lay a precious egg; many female dung beetles will also apply some antibacterial secretions near the egg to ensure the survival of the egg. After that, the hardworking mother will cover the dung ball with a layer of soil. This layer of soil will become very solid after drying, playing a protective and moisturizing role. The number of eggs laid by different species of dung beetles varies greatly. Species with complex parenting behaviors such as scarabs often lay only a few eggs, but their meticulous preparation for their offspring can ensure that these eggs have a very high survival rate.

Dung beetles eating a self-service pile of elephant dung in South Africa | Bernard DUPONT / Wikimedia Commons

The scarab beetle larvae develop in this dung ball, which is their exclusive space. They will not leave until they emerge as adults. Unlike other scarab beetle larvae, dung beetle larvae develop in a small, enclosed space. They feed on dung, but do not have sufficient freedom to defecate . Dung beetle larvae rarely defecate during their development. They do not completely empty their intestines until they pupate . The larvae have a distinctive "hump" on their backs, which is where they usually store feces.

Scarab beetle larva with a bump on its back | Wikimedia Commons

Dung beetle larvae are also extremely valuable decoration materials : when the outer wall of the dung ball - that is, the layer of soil shell - is damaged, the larvae will use feces to smear the cracks to repair it; and if they encounter invading enemies, the larvae will also use feces to defend themselves. In addition, the most important use of storing these feces is that before the dung beetle larvae pupate, they will use all their life's feces to smear the inner wall of the soil shell ; forming a smooth and solid black pupal chamber wall - at this time, the feces stored in the soil shell have been eaten up, and the soil shell dung ball that raises the larvae becomes an excellent pupal chamber. When the scarab beetles in the pupal chamber emerge and pass the dormant period, they will use their hard front feet and head to break through the ball shell and drill out of the ground.

A new generation of scarabs was born like the sun rising from the horizon. From the time when the pyramids were not built to the day when the Pharaoh dynasty collapsed, there has never been the slightest change.

Watch out, a hard-working dung beetle is crossing the road | Olga Ernst / Wikimedia Commons

Author: Wu Chao

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)