Bug FAQErratic small dung beetle
Colobopterus erraticus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Scarabaeidae
Adults are small, about 5 to 7 mm long. The head, pronotum and scutellum are black while the wing covers are yellowish with brownish suture and may have a cloudy spot or blackish stripes. It belongs to the scarab beetle family and occurs across the Holarctic region.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The beetle’s head, pronotum and scutellum are black; the elytra are yellowish with a brownish suture and sometimes show a cloudy spot or long blackish strips.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Colobopterus erraticus is a scarab beetle with a Holarctic distribution.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is found throughout the Holarctic region.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 22 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, Texas, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, Indiana.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Scarabaeidae)
Japanese BeetlePopillia japonicaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Common Green June BeetleCotinis nitidaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Phyllophaga crinitaPhyllophaga crinitaDamages trees, gardens or crops
European Rose ChaferCetonia aurata
Mediterranean Spotted ChaferOxythyrea funestaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Oriental BeetleExomala orientalisDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colobopterus_erraticus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.