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How to Find Scarab Beetles

Approximately 1,200 to 2,000 scarab species call the United States home, and you've more than likely seen a member of this family buzzing about during the warm summer months. Many species are nocturnal and buzz about lights at night, sometimes slamming into screens, doors and windows. A lot of scarabs are known as dung beetles because they feed on dung, sometimes rolling it into tight balls and pushing it great distances. Other species feed on foliage.

Instructions

- 1
  Venture outside during the warmer months of the summer at night. Stand still underneath a porch light or other outdoor light. Chances are you will have a large May beetle (sometimes called June bug) or June beetle buzz by you. These species, particularly, are known for their loud, buzzing flights.
- 2
  Catch one of the flying beetles in your hand, or wait for it to fly into something and fall. These beetles are harmless to humans.
- 3
  Examine the beetle under a light. Scarab beetles have club-like antennae that they can open or close into a tight ball. Their antennae also have leaf-like plates on them.
- 4
  Go outside and look for Japanese beetles. These pests are also scarabs, and if you have them, you've probably just found a lot of scarab beetles because they congregate in large numbers.
- 5
  Walk around a cattle or large animal pasture and look at the ground. Many dung beetles, also scarabs, thrive in these habitats because their primary food source, dung, is readily available.
- 6
  Research different scarab beetles. Some of them feed on specific plants or on certain plants more than other plants. For example, the goldsmith beetle prefers the foliage of poplar trees.

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