Page 3 · Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae) - 896 Species, Identification & Facts

Phyllophaga rubiginosa

Phy. rubiginosa ranks second among the night-flying Phyllophaga of Riley county , [Kansas] comprising 15 per cent of the total collections. (emphasis added) (Knaus (1897), in reporting this species from Douglas county and Manhattan, speaks of it as b

Phyllophaga squamipilosa

Identification: note elongated (hair-like) scales on pronotum Det. Glenn A. Salsbury, 2015 described from Texas without further locality (Saylor, 1936), and no additional details regarding its distribution have appeared until Riley & Wolfe who examin

Phyllophaga submucida

Identification: One of the few Phyllophaga that can be reasonably ID'ed from images. This species has a distinctive reddish pronotum and lighter brownish elytra with a waxy bloom, and is exceptionally common in TX. - mjpaulsen Dets. Brad Barnd (from

Phyllophaga tusa

Texas endemic. The type locality is "nr. San Antonio," (probably Bexar county) (Horn, 1887). Reinhard (1939, 1950) listed it from Dimmit county. To these records Riley and Wolfe added Live Oak and San Patricio counties.

Phyllophaga vetula

Identification: Det. M. Brummermann, 2013 Type Locality: New Mexico

Phyllophaga zavalana

Identification: pronotum densely and coarsely punctate except immediately behind flattened middle area and usually one or more smaller impunctate areas nearer lateral margin (Reinhard, 1946) Det. V. Belov, 2025 Type Locality: Zavala County, Texas, Oc

Platytomus longulus

Identification: Det. E. G. Riley 2009 Type Locality: Camp Shelby, Forrest Co., Mississippi

Platytomus notialis

Metatarsomere 1 longer than metatarsomeres 2+3 combined

Pleurophorus caesus

earliest NA record: Middle Atlantic states before 1871

Podolasia ferruginea

Identification: clypeus broadly and shallowly emarginate (emargination short but deep in P. emarginata ) Type Locality: Ringgold Barracks, Starr County, TX

Mount Hermon June Beetle

Polyphylla barbata

Federally listed January, 1997 as an Endangered Species. on California's "Special Animals" List. The primary threats have been sand mining and urban development. At the time of listing [Jan 1997] it was estimated that 60% of the sand hills habitat ha

Polyphylla crinita

Identification: Tricolor (orange, black, white). Elytra integument black; covered in yellow/golden scales. Pronotum with erect hairs in central area. Most likely a geographic morph of P. decemlineata and not a distinct species, per D. Hawks (based on

Pine Chafer

Polyphylla fullo

With a body length of up to 3.8 cm this is a large beetle. The black, brown, or reddish brown elytra have a characteristic marble design of white or pale lemony-yellow spots. The female is slightly larger than the male, but lacks the enormous scent d

Polyphylla gracilis

Identification: A smaller species readily recognized by the unidentate protibia of the male and its mottled elytral color pattern, bearing a broad lateral stripe • syntype

Polyphylla hammondi

Identification: the central member of the hammondi complex, for which several spp. are recognized based on good morphological characters (like P. brownae ); western members of the complex need detailed study ( 3 )

(P. decemlineata sensu lato; southwestern form)

Polyphylla matrona

Identification: "SE AZ has only matrona in the decemlineata group." - D. Hawks Currently considered a synonym of Polyphylla decemlineata by most sources; a valid species per Dave Hawks (unpublished molecular and morphological data in forthcoming revi

Polyphylla nigra

Historically has been confused with other taxa throughout the western United States based on published misidentifications spanning decades. (D. Hawks, pers. comm. to S. Hendrix, 2026)

Polyphylla pottsorum

Identification: La Rue (1998) defined Polyphylla pottsorum as a complex of geographical phenotypes differing mainly by male dorsal coloration. Texas considers this to be a "Species of Greatest Conservation Need" (SGCN) ( 4 )

(P. hammondi sensu lato)

Polyphylla proba

Currently considered a synonym of Polyphylla hammondi by most sources; a valid species per Dave Hawks (unpublished molecular and morphological data in forthcoming revision). This species is highly variable.

(P. hammondi sensu lato)

Polyphylla speciosa

Currently considered a synonym of Polyphylla hammondi by most sources; either a valid species or a synonym of Polyphylla proba per Dave Hawks (unpublished molecular and morphological data in forthcoming revision). Usually has bolder stripes than P. p

Auburndale Scrub Scarab Beetle

Polyphylla starkae

Identification: the largest member of the pubescens group; strongly sexually dimorphic (♀♀ more robust than ♂♂, with legs modified for burrowing) and elytral setae nearly absent. Although flight wings appear fully developed, female elytra are tightly

(P. hammondi sensu lato)

Polyphylla subvittata

Currently considered a synonym of Polyphylla hammondi by most sources; a valid species per Dave Hawks (unpublished molecular and morphological data in forthcoming revision).

Psammodius laevipennis 0

Psammodius laevipennis

Identification: habitus photos: ▭ · ▭ · ▭ earliest NA record: Mid-Atlantic States before 1848

Brown Chafer

Serica brunnea

8 to 10 mm. Entirely brown, but the head between the eyes is a darker brown. Head, thorax and elytra are punctate. Locally fairly frequent across England, Wales and southern Scotland.

Serica campestris

Texas records from Bowie and Wood counties in e.TX ( 3 )

Serica howdeni

originally known from only the type specimen taken near Tyler (Smith County). Riley & Wolfe collected it at Tyler State Park (Smith County) and in Brazos County.

Serica intermixta

Identification: Det. Paul K. Lago, 1985 Texas records from Brazos, Sabine, Smith, Tyler and Wood counties in e.TX ( 4 )

Serica mystaca

Literature record only for Texas, but expected to be found in east TX ( 4 )

Serica parallela

Identification: "Color varying through the shades mahogany red, bay and chestnut, surface velvety and opaque, with only a slight iridescence observable when viewed at an oblique angle in good light." Det. E. G. Riley, 2014 Type Locality: New Jersey

Serica sericea

Identification: "Color deep chestnut, surface velvety and opaque but in shifting lights showing a very brilliant metallic sheen of rainbow colors." Not strongly setose on head or pronotum.

Serica tristis

Identification: "Color varying from chestnut to nearly black, depending largely upon the degree of maturity and condition of the specimen, surface moderately shining, distinctly less velvety than in sericea , but with a similar though less intense, m

Serica vespertina

coll'ed at UV light in Morris and Smith counties in e. TX

Strategus antaeus

Identification: Elytra without sutural striae. Male often has long posterior horns. The absence of a sutural stria will easily separate S. antaeus from all other species in the genus. Strategus antaeus is somewhat variable with regard to shape, size,

Sand Chafer

Strigoderma arbicola

Identification: Distinctly striate elytra, punctate pronotum; extensive setae over much of the body Typically reddish occasionally black Adults locally abundant; comes to lights

Strigoderma knausi

Holotype. Male: Medora, Reno Co., KS; W. Knaus; June.

Pygmy Chafer

Strigoderma pygmaea

Identification: Pronotum black, elytra various from all black to all yellow; shiny.

Teuchestes fossor

Up to 12 mm long and very broad and convex, this dung beetle is black but can have a bluish sheen in certain light. The scutellum is long and studded with small punctuations. In horse and cattle dung from March to October and among flood refuse throu

Thyce squamicollis

Hardy recorded this species from El Paso, Reeves and Nueces counties in Texas. Riley & Wolfe collected this species in El Paso County. Given that all other localities are from far westem Texas and New Mexico, the Nueces County record seems doubtful.

Tomarus subtropicus

Identification: frontoclypeal tubercles transverse and low; pronotal punctures small; pronotal tubercle small but visible in lateral view; pronotal fovea shallow and narrow (⅓ as wide as interocular distance); protibia tridentate, rarely with an addi

Trichiotinus bibens

Identification: Elytra brown with greenish tinge. Pygidium lacks obvious chalky marks, or they are obscured by hair: More uniformly hairy on elytra, etc. than T. lunulatus . Head lacks V-shaped callus, present on T. lunulatus .

Trichiotinus lunulatus

Identification: Usually green, occasionally coppery or even blue. Similar to T. bibens , but more southeastern. Generally less hairy, has V-shaped callus on head. Legs usually green or dark. Cretaceous (chalky) spots on pygidium not usually concealed

Valgus californicus

Type Locality: A single specimen was found at Fort Crook, Cal., during July, caught in a spider's web.

Valgus canaliculatus

Identification: integument usually lighter than in V. seticollis but telling the two apart from above may be difficult; see key in Males have a dense patch of ochre scales on the ventral side of abdomen: Females have a long process on the pygidium :

Valgus hemipterus

Identification: Integument black, scales black and white, never brownish; the midline of propygidium bears white scales to variable extent. (more black scales in females generally) Female with long spine on pygidium, this finely serrate. (no spine in

Valgus seticollis

Identification: Male ventral vestiture on abdomen uniform and moderately dense Female pygidium lack a spiniform process. Dosal sex differences: in V. seticollis , scales along midline of propygidium are finer and pale; scales do not form a dark centr

Volinus sticticus

Around 5mm with characteristic black streaks on yellow/brown elytra. The pronotum generally has yellow side borders and a very fine beaded margin along the base. Fields where horses and cattle are kept. Breeds on dung, particularly from cows and hors

Xeropsamobeus asellus

The type locality of A. nanus is Carrizo Springs (Dimmit County) (Horn, 1887). Riley and Wolfe also examined specimens from Kimble and Reagan counties.

Xyloryctes thestalus

Identification: has a distinctly protuberant pronotal process with an emarginate apex in the males; elytra vary from smooth to longitudinally furrowed with punctures; apex of metatibia has 7-8 small teeth; parameres with a relatively long basolateral