Shining dung scarab: The rainbow bead that rolls the sun

The shining dung scarab has a glittering name and a rainbow-like shine, looking like a little moving bead of colour. But its real work is handling animal droppings — rolling dung into balls and burying them. Do not look down on this "dirty job": it is enormously important to nature.

Its body

The shining dung scarab's shell carries a metallic, iridescent sheen that shifts colour like a peacock's feathers. But this beautiful beetle finds its food and nursery material by scent, tracking the smell of animal dung. It has strong legs that roll soil and dung into neat round balls and push them along.

Its work and why it matters

The scarab rolls up a dung ball and buries it underground, either as its own food or as a nursery for its young. It may look unseemly, but it is ecologically valuable: dung is broken down quickly, nutrients return to the soil, and parasites and flies are held in check. In a very real sense, dung scarabs are quiet little "cleaners" of the forest and grassland.

Its link to ancient Egypt

The "sacred scarab" the ancient Egyptians worshipped was a relative of this beetle. They likened the beetle's rolling of a dung ball to the god pushing the sun across the sky — the ball being the sun and the beetle the sacred scarab who moves it. So this small beetle once made a famous name in human civilisation.

A note for grown-ups

You could talk with a child about not judging by appearance: this beautiful little beetle does the most unglamorous, even smelly work. Teaching a child that many overlooked "dirty jobs" are exactly what keep the whole world turning is a valuable insight.