Subject: Badlands NP Beetle
Location: Badlands NP; South Dakota
June 26, 2017 4:29 pm
Hello,
We saw this awesome beetle while hiking along a bison trail in the Sage Creek Wilderness portion of the Badlands NP a couple weeks back. Looks like a scarab beetle (?) We also saw dung beetles along the way 🙂
Thanks!
Signature: D & M Coulter
Dear D & M Coulter,
This Rainbow Scarab is actually a species of Dung Beetle. The male Rainbow Scarab has a horn and the female Rainbow Scarab does not. We cannot tell from your image if this is a male or female as the grass is obscuring the Rainbow Scarab’s head.