dung beetle

noun

any of various scarab beetles that feed on or breed in dung.

Content related to dung beetle

Strange Studies Worthy Of A College Degree From Angelology to Scatology, we’re touring the campus of out-of-the-ordinary fields of study in which some people may (or may not) specialize.

What Is The Difference Between A Bug And An Insect?We tend to use the word bug loosely for any very small creature with legs. However, a true bug is defined as belonging to the order Hemiptera. These creatures characteristically have tough forewings and lack teeth, such as beetles. True bugs have a stylet (a mouth shaped like a straw) that they use to suck juices from plants. Insects belong to the class Insecta and they are characterized by three-part bodies, usually two pairs of wings, and …

Words nearby dung beetle

dune-buggy, dunedin, duneland, dunfermline, dung, dung beetle, dung fly, dungannon, dungaree, dungeness, dungeness crab

Origin of dung beetle

First recorded in 1625–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dung beetle

I know in my neighbourhood one Dung-beetle and one alone who also works among carrion.
The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles|Jean Henri Fabre
One or more species of the dung-beetle mites (Gamasid) have also been known to fasten themselves on man.
Parasites|T. Spencer Cobbold
Our modern knights might be very handsomely represented in steel-blue armour, made from the wings of the dung-beetle.
Tour in England, Ireland, and France, in the years 1826, 1827, 1828 and 1829.|Hermann Pckler-Muskau
In the same manner, nothing changes in the art of the Dung-beetle, victualling himself with materials in this mine or that.
The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles|Jean Henri Fabre

And then to be fooling round here alone night after night with that dung-beetle, that Tommy—the beast smells, I tell you.
The Song of Songs|Hermann Sudermann

British Dictionary definitions for dung beetle

dung beetle

dung chafer

noun

any of the various beetles of the family Scarabaeidae and related families that feed on or breed in dung

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012