Minnesota Seasons - Maculated Dung Beetle

Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy

Conservation Status

Photo by Bill Reynolds

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Description

Maculated dung beetle small aphodine dung beetle is native to Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. It was introduced into and is now widespread in North America.

Adults are ⅛″ to ¼″ long. The body is stout and is elongated, more so than dung beetles (subfamily Scarabaeinae) and tumblebugs (Canthon sp.).

The head is black. It is not concealed beneath the pronotum. The antennae have 8 to 11 segments and are fan-shaped at the tip. The last three segments have long projections on one side that can be tightly closed.

The exoskeletal plate covering the thorax (pronotum) is black.

The hard forewings (elytra) are ridged longitudinally and black with highly variable yellow markings. The triangular plate between the wing bases (scutellum) is well developed.

The legs are black. The hind legs are closer to the tip of the abdomen than to the middle legs. The fourth segment (tibia) of the middle and hind legs have keel-shaped ridges. The end segment of each leg (tarsus) has 5 sections.

Size

Total length: ⅛″ to ¼″

Similar Species

Habitat

Pastures

Ecology

Season

March to May and August to October

Behavior

Life Cycle

Adults overwinter. They emerge from hibernation and mate in the spring. The female lays eggs in the soil or in an underground dung ball. Larvae are most abundant in June and July. The new adults emerge in August or September and hibernate in late October or November.

Larva Food

Underground balls of dung of mammals, especially cattle; rotting plant material; and possibly plant roots.

Adult Food

Dung of mammals, especially cattle.

Distribution
		Sources 24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.
9/17/2025

Occurrence
Common and widespread

Taxonomy
Order	Coleoptera (beetles)
Suborder	Polyphaga (water, rove, scarab, long-horned, leaf, and snout beetles)
Infraorder	Scarabaeiformia
Superfamily	Scarabaeoidea (scarabs, stag beetles, and allies)
Family	Scarabaeidae (scarabs)
Subfamily	Aphodiinae (small dung beetles)
Tribe	Aphodiini
Subtribe	Aphodiina
Genus	Chilothorax

This species was formerly clasified as Aphodius distinctus and was placed in the subgenus Chilothorax. That subgenus has been raised to full genus rank.

Subordinate Taxa


Synonyms
Aphodius anxius Aphodius auctus Aphodius baseolus Aphodius centrolineatoides Aphodius confluens Aphodius distinctoides Aphodius distinctus Aphodius fumosus Aphodius hemicyclus Aphodius humeralis Aphodius hypocoprus Aphodius inquinatulus Aphodius interruptus Aphodius libyanus Aphodius lopezromeui Aphodius lunatus Aphodius maculipennis Aphodius nubiloides Aphodius ophthalmicus Aphodius pauper Aphodius pseudonubilus Aphodius pulcheroides Aphodius scutellaris Aphodius striatulus Aphodius subcinctus Aphodius subconfluens Aphodius trifasciatus Scarabaeus attaminatus Scarabaeus centrolineatus Scarabaeus foedatus Scarabaeus inquinatus Scarabaeus nubilus

Common Names
maculated dung beetle

Glossary

Elytra

The hardened or leathery forewings of beetles used to protect the fragile hindwings, which are used for flying. Singular: elytron.

Pronotum

The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.

Scutellum

The exoskeletal plate covering the rearward (posterior) part of the middle segment of the thorax in some insects. In Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera, the dorsal, often triangular plate behind the pronotum and between the bases of the front wings. In Diptera, the exoskeletal plate between the abdomen and the thorax.

Tarsus

The last two to five sections of an insect’s leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. Plural: tarsi.

Tibia

The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot). The fifth segment of a spider leg or palp. Plural: tibiae.