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dung beetle

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
dung beetle
n.
Any of various beetles of the family Scarabaeidae that form balls of dung on which they feed and in which they lay their eggs.

dung beetle, chafer
n
(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any of the various beetles of the family Scarabaeidae and related families that feed on or breed in dung
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.dung beetle - any of numerous beetles that roll balls of dung on which they feed and in which they lay eggsdung beetle - any of numerous beetles that roll balls of dung on which they feed and in which they lay eggs
scarabaean, scarabaeid, scarabaeid beetle - any of numerous species of stout-bodied beetles having heads with horny spikes
scarab, scarabaeus, Scarabaeus sacer - scarabaeid beetle considered divine by ancient Egyptians
tumblebug - any of various dung beetles
dorbeetle - Old World dung beetle that flies with a droning sound


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He's still at a difficult stage," she said some years later to the same friends when I sulked, festering, in the corner of the old caf - with the gloomy resignation of a dung beetle, who had just shut the blinds on his unhappy home.
Another name for scarab beetles is dung beetles, because they roll up a ball of dung, move it to a protected place, lay their eggs in the dung, and when the eggs hatch, the beetle larvae eat the dung
If the modern dung beetle deserves praise for these global sanitation efforts, then the extinct dung beetles of ancient South America deserve a medal.
 
 
 
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