Sisyphus (beetle)

Sisyphus is a genus of dung beetles comprising more than 90 species.[1] Adults are characterised by their long hind legs.[2]

Sisyphus
Sisyphus longipes
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Superfamily:
Scarabaeoidea
Family:
Scarabaeidae
Subfamily:
Scarabaeinae
Tribe:
Sisyphini
Genus:
Sisyphus

Latreille, 1807
Species

see text

Distribution

Africa, Eurasia, Asia, Central America and Australia.[1]

Habits

Adults separate balls of dung from droppings and roll them some distance over the soil surface before burying them.[2] Eggs are laid in the buried dung; this provides a source of food for the larvae once they hatch.

Species

One common species is Sisyphus schaefferi (Linnaeus, 1758).

References
  1. "Sisyphus - Taxonomy". insectoid.info. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  2. Davis, Adrian L. V.; Scholtz, Clarke H.; Philips, T. Keith (September 2002). "Historical biogeography of scarabaeine dung beetles". Journal of Biogeography. 29 (9): 1217–1256. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2699.2002.00776.x.


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