Posted 5/26/2011 12:05 AM by Frank Krell |
CommentsUp to a whopping 22 mm in length with bright metallic green
coloration, the native Rainbow Scarab, Phanaeus vindex, is
the largest and most spectacular of the about 90 dung beetle
species inhabiting Colorado. It is rarely seen because it spends
its time under cattle and
bison dung pats working on its nest. It digs tunnels under the
dung pat and pushes dung portions to the end of those tunnels as
food for its larvae. Only the males have the long horn on the head.
DMNS Curator of Entomology, Dr. Frank Krell,
found this specimen at Chico Basin Ranch in El
Paso County on May 14, 2011. It is a new county record for this
species.
In ecosystems with large mammals dung beetles
are a crucial component of the nutrient cycle by being responsible
for breaking up dung and reintegrating dung portions into the soil.
Compared to other grassland ecosystems, the dung beetle fauna of
the North American plains is currently rather poor, and is heavily
invaded by European species. The dung recycling seems to be rather
incomplete. When 30-60 million bison had roamed the Great Plains
and produced at least 100-200 billion dung pats per year, a more
abundant dung beetle fauna can be assumed, with large dung rollers
or the Rainbow Scarab having been present in much higher numbers
than today. The dung beetle fauna of Colorado and other grassland
ecosystems world-wide are studied in-depth by the
Entomology Program at the Denver Museum of Nature &
Science.
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