Bug FAQRainbow Scarab
Phanaeus vindex · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Scarabaeidae
Also called: Rainbow Dung Beetle
Rainbow scarabs are 11-22 mm beetles with iridescent wing covers in males and a horn on the head. They live throughout the eastern and central US and northern Mexico, tolerate many habitats, and feed only on animal dung. Adults emerge in spring, mate, and then dig tunnels for dung nests; the whole life cycle takes 2-6 months and they die within a year.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males have shiny, iridescent elytra, a large head horn, and an abdomen that rises above the wing covers; females lack the horn and have duller shells.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure about 11 to 22 mm (0.4-0.9 in) long.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They tolerate a wide range of habitats and build underground dung nests with complex tunnel systems.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
They are true dung beetles, feeding exclusively on feces of omnivores like pigs and cows, sometimes herbivore dung, and rarely carnivore dung.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Eggs hatch into larvae, which pupate before becoming adults; the developmental period is 2-6 months, and the total lifespan is under one year.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults emerge from soil, seek mates, and start new tunneling; in cold areas they stay below the frost line until it warms.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Found from Florida and New England west to Arizona and Wyoming, and into northern Mexico; it is the most widespread US Phanaeus species.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can hybridize with the less common Phanaeus difformis.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 41 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Colorado, Maryland.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Where might I find a rainbow scarab?
They occur across the eastern and central United States and northern Mexico in many habitats.
Source: Wikipedia
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/Phanaeus_vindex
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.