The Scarabaeidae is an enormous and diverse family of over 30,000 species, including iconic insects like dung beetles, rhinoceros beetles, and June beetles, found across nearly every terrestrial habitat. The short answer to whether scarab beetles eat flesh is generally no; the vast majority process plant material or waste products, serving a significant role in ecological decomposition. Only a minor specialized fraction consumes dead animal matter.
The Truth About Scarab Diets
The majority of the Scarabaeidae family are not carnivorous, focusing instead on non-animal sources. These beetles are primarily herbivores or detritivores, consuming living plant material or decaying organic matter. Many species are phytophagous, feeding on leaves, sap, pollen, and nectar, such as the Japanese beetle and June beetles, which can become agricultural pests.
Other scarabs are coprophagous, specializing in consuming the feces or dung of other animals. Dung beetles process vast quantities of waste, using it as food and provision for their young, which helps recycle nutrients and aids in pest control. Finally, saprophages focus on decaying plant material like rotting wood, compost, and leaf litter.
Diet Variation Across Life Stages
Scarab beetle feeding habits change dramatically between the larval stage (grub) and the adult stage. Grubs live underground, focusing on subterranean food sources such as the roots of living plants or decaying organic matter like rotting wood or humus. Adult scarabs frequently transition to above-ground feeding, utilizing their wings to access different resources.
While some adults continue to feed on dung or carrion, many shift to consuming flowers, fruit, sap flows, or leaves. This difference in diet and habitat is reflected in the distinct bacterial communities found within their digestive systems. This shift ensures that different life stages do not compete for the same food resources.
Specialized Scarabs and Necrophagy
The idea of scarabs eating flesh is rooted in a small, specialized subgroup that engages in necrophagy, the consumption of dead animal matter or carrion. This behavior is scavenging an animal carcass after death, not active predation on living animals. These necrophagous scarabs, sometimes called copro-necrophagous beetles, are often the same species that consume dung.
They are opportunistic decomposers that utilize any available decaying organic material, whether feces or a dead animal. While a limited number of scarab species have been observed on animal carcasses, their primary ecological function is cleanup and nutrient cycling, not true predation. They process the soft, decaying tissue and fluids of an already dead organism, acting as nature’s recyclers.