Mottled dung beetle

Onthophagus nuchicornis · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Scarabaeidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Mottled dung beetle
Photo: Darin J McGuire, CC BY

Onthophagus nuchicornis lives in Europe and North America. Its larvae grow inside underground brood balls while adults eat the microbial biomass found in dung. It can reproduce using the dung of several North American mammals such as red fox, moose, and bobcat.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Larvae feed in subterranean brood balls, and adults consume dead and living microbes in dung.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

This beetle is found across Europe and North America.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Adults eat microbial biomass in dung, while larvae bulk-feed within brood balls.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

It reproduces using dung from various mammals, including red fox, moose, and bobcat.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its range includes Europe and North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 17 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Washington, Oregon, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Maine, Delaware, Massachusetts.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Mottled dung beetle photo 2
Photo: Rose Zappa, CC BY
Mottled dung beetle photo 3
Photo: Cole Wolf, CC BY
Mottled dung beetle photo 4
Photo: Nickala Squire, CC BY
Mottled dung beetle photo 5
Photo: Daniel Patterson, CC BY

Questions people ask

What do the larvae of Onthophagus nuchicornis eat?

The larvae bulk-feed inside underground brood balls.

Source: Wikipedia

Which animal dung can Onthophagus nuchicornis use for reproduction?

It can use dung from red fox, moose, and bobcat, among other North American mammals.

Source: Wikipedia

Where is Onthophagus nuchicornis found?

It occurs in Europe and North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Scarabaeidae)

Japanese BeetleJapanese BeetlePopillia japonicaDamages trees, gardens or cropsCommon Green June BeetleCommon Green June BeetleCotinis nitidaDamages trees, gardens or cropsPhyllophaga crinitaPhyllophaga crinitaDamages trees, gardens or cropsEuropean Rose ChaferEuropean Rose ChaferCetonia aurataMediterranean Spotted ChaferMediterranean Spotted ChaferOxythyrea funestaDamages trees, gardens or cropsOriental BeetleOriental BeetleExomala orientalisDamages trees, gardens or crops

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onthophagus_nuchicornis

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-28 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-28.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.