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The Japanese earth-boring dung beetle is a shiny, metallic beetle that feeds on animal dung. It is usually reddish purple, though some populations are golden-green or blue. It lives in Japan, Korea, and eastern China and isn't found in the wild in the United States.

Appearance

Appearance
About 5/8–7/8 in (16–22 mm) long, with an oblong-oval body and a strong metallic sheen. The wing covers have deep lengthwise grooves, and the antennae end in a small fan-shaped club.

Where it lives

Typical habitats
  • Forests
  • Woodland trails
  • Pastures
Range
Eastern China, North and South Korea, and throughout Japan, with records from the Russian Far East as well. It does not occur in the US.

Behavior

Diet
Dung of mammals such as deer and dogs; adults also visit carcasses and rotting mushrooms.
Activity
Active by day. It digs burrows in the soil and drags dung down into them.

Life cycle

Larva
Females pack dung into an underground burrow and lay eggs there; the thick, whitish grubs feed on the stored dung.

Connected species

Close relatives
  • Phelotrupes laevistriatus

    A close relative in the same genus from Japan; it is slightly smaller and less shiny, with a rounded rather than pointed head tip.

Conservation

IUCN Red List
NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed

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Japanese Earth-boring Dung Beetle (Phelotrupes auratus) — identification, habitat & look-alikes | Moeyo