Forest Dung Beetle (Anoplotrupes stercorosus (Scriba, 1796))
Scientific name: Anoplotrupes stercorosus (Scriba, 1796)
Common name: Forest Dung Beetle
Other names: Wood Dor Beetle.
French name: Bousier commun, Géotrupe stercoraire.
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Geotrupidae
Wingspan : 12 to 20 mm.
Biotope: Pastures, woodland paths, sandy heathlands.
Geographic area: All Europe east to the Caucasus.
Observation period : March to October.
The Forest Dung Beetle (Anoplotrupes stercorosus) is a large black beetle with a blue sheen. The underside is a blue or purple metallic colour.
The rather short body is oval shaped.
The antennae of 11 articles show a clubbed tip with three reddish lamellae.
The pronotum has a marginal ridge, in particular on all the base margin. It is sparsely punctured.
The elytra are very slightly striated.
The legs are strong with teeth enabling the Forest Dung Beetle to excavate tunnels.
The external side of the hind tibia only shows one tooth in addition of the apical tooth.
The Forest Dung Beetle feeds on feces or rotting fungi.
It excavates galleries which are about 70 or 80 centimetres long and end with several cells. Each cell is provided with a piece of feces in which the female lays one egg.
The Forest Dung Beetle over winters as a larva. A few adults may survive to the winter and can be observed in early spring.

Forest Dung Beetle (Anoplotrupes stercorosus) - Yvelines, France - June 13th 2010
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Forest Dung Beetle (Anoplotrupes stercorosus)
I have not succeeded in shooting nice pictures of this Forest Dung Beetle observed on a woodland track side.
You can clearly see the reddish clubbed antennae with 3 lamellae, the sparsely punctured pronotum with a ridge on the whole hind edge and the lightly striated elytra.
There is still a small doubt about this species identification because of my lack of experience and because we cannot see the external side of the hind tibiae.


Forest Dung Beetle (Anoplotrupes stercorosus) - Yvelines, France - July 17th 2010
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Forest Dung Beetle (Anoplotrupes stercorosus)
I have caught this Forest Dung Beetle in a trapeze exercise (or I have frightened it, it fell down and hooked to this small branch ...).
This picture shows the purple blue metallic colour of the under side of the body.
You can distinguish the two teeth on the external side of the hind tibia, the apical tooth plus another one.

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