dung beetle

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noun

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

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Origin of dung beetle

First recorded in 1625–35

Words nearby dung beetle

Dunfermline, dun fly, dung, Dungannon, dungaree, dung beetle, Dungeness, Dungeness crab, dungeon, Dungeon Master, Dungeons and Dragons

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dung beetle in a sentence

Diverse trees and grasses support scores of other species, from vivid green-orange Fischer’s lovebirds to dung beetles.
Only 3 percent of Earth’s land is unchanged by people|Jonathan Lambert|May 28, 2021|Science News For Students
This diversity of trees and grasses support scores of other species, from vivid green-orange Fischer’s lovebirds to dung beetles.
Only 3 percent of Earth’s land hasn’t been marred by humans|Jonathan Lambert|April 15, 2021|Science News
Their surveys showed that 29 species in the state — including dung beetles, freshwater crayfish, flies, snails and spiders — had their entire ranges burned.
A year after Australia’s wildfires, extinction threatens hundreds of species|John Pickrell|March 9, 2021|Science News
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

The mates of several species of dung-beetle keep house together and know the worth of mutual labour.
Social Life in the Insect World|J. H. Fabre
And as I said 'Hodge, my dear Hodge,' you tumbled about like a kernel of corn which a dung-beetle blows with his breath.
Henry VIII And His Court|Louise Muhlbach
Life is everywhere the same, in the Dung beetle's body as in man's.
The Life of the Fly|J. Henri Fabre
Of this description is the maxilla in the common dung-beetle (Geotrupes stercorarius), and rove-beetle (Staphylinus olens).
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. III (of 4)|William Kirby

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