ID My Beetle

Use our questionnaire to ID what dung beetles are on your property

Beetles with benefits

Coming in all shapes and sizes, it can be a little tricky to identify what dung beetles you have on your land.

Knowing what species are on your property will help us provide the right populations for you.

Fill in our easy-to-use, taxonomical questionnaire to find out the most likely species of dung beetles you have on your farm.

You can also send us photos or even dead beetles and we will identify them for you. This information will be entered into iNaturalist and contribute to the national mapping of species in the Atlas of Living Australia.

Dung Beetle ID Questionnaire

Horns

Length

Colour

Pattern

How many horns do I have?

None

One

Two

How long am I?

Under 10 mm

10 - 15 mm

15 - 20 mm

20 mm +

What colour am I?

Black

Brown

Green

Other

Multi-Coloured

Do I have a pattern?

None

Diamonds

Speckled

Stripes

Find Beetles

Bubas Bison Male

Shiny black in colouration, Bubas bison are between 13 - 19mm with males having a pair of horns on the head while females lack these.

Season: Winter

Active: May - September

Horns: Two

Length: 15 - 20mm

Colour: Black

Pattern: N/A

Bubas Bison Female

Shiny black in colouration, Bubas bison are between 13 - 19mm with males having a pair of horns on the head while females lack these.

Season: Winter

Active: May - September

Horns: None

Length: 15 - 20mm

Colour: Black

Pattern: N/A

Digitonthophagus Gazella Male

Two-toned with dark brown pronotum and, lighter brown elytra, between 10 - 13mm. Males have a pair of horns on the head.

Season: Summer

Active: December - April

Horns: Two

Length: 10 - 15mm

Colour: Brown, Multi-Coloured

Pattern: N/A

Digitonthophagus Gazella Female

Two-toned with dark brown pronotum and, lighter brown elytra, between 10 - 13mm. Males have a pair of horns on the head.

Season: Summer

Active: December - April

Horns: None

Length: 10 - 15mm

Colour: Brown, Multi-Coloured

Pattern: N/A

Euoniticellus Africanus

Light to dark brown colouration, between 8-13mm, contains two black triangles on the pronotum. Easily confused with E. pallipes.

Season: Summer

Active: November - March

Horns: None

Length: Under 10mm, 10 - 15mm

Colour: Brown, Multi-Coloured

Pattern: N/A

Euoniticellus Fulvus

Yellow to medium brown colouration, between 8-12mm, The pronotum is unmarked. Males have a ridge at the front of their head.

Season: Spring - Summer

Active: November - March

Horns: None

Length: Under 10mm, 10 - 15mm

Colour: Brown

Pattern: N/A

Euoniticellus Intermedius

Yellow to brown colouration, between 7-12mm. The pronotum has a diamond pattern. Males have a short horn on the head.

Season: Spring - Summer

Active: November - March

Horns: One, None

Length: Under 10mm, 10 - 15mm

Colour: Brown

Pattern: Diamond

Euoniticellus Pallipes

Light to medium brown with several pairs of dark patches on the pronotum. Between 9-12mm.
Easily confused with E. africanus.

Season: Summer

Active: December - March

Horns: None

Length: Under 10mm, 10 - 15mm

Colour: Brown

Pattern: N/A

Geotrupes Spiniger

Between 20-25mm, shiny black colouration, no horns.

Season: Summer - Autumn

Active: January - May

Horns: None

Length: Greater than 20mm

Colour: Black

Pattern: N/A

Liatongus Militaris

Brown to dark brown; distinctive black broken stripes on wing covers, 8 - 10mm in length.

Season: Summer

Active: December - March

Horns: None

Length: Under 10mm

Colour: Brown

Pattern: Stripes

Onitis Alexis

Green/coppery pronotum, light brown wing covers, between 13-20mm, both sexes have a ridge midway between the eyes and front of the head.

Season: Summer - Autumn

Active: December - May

Horns: None

Length: 10mm - 15mm, 15mm - 20mm

Colour: Green, Multi-Coloured

Pattern: N/A

Onitis Aygulus

Dark brown pronotum with a coppery or green sheen, between 20-25mm, no horns.

Season: Summer - Autumn

Active: December - May

Horns: None

Length: Greater than 20mm

Colour: Brown

Pattern: N/A

Onitis Caffer

Shiny black in colouration, between 15-20mm, no horns.

Season: Autumn - Winter

Active: March - May

Horns: None

Length: 15mm - 20mm

Colour: Black

Pattern: N/A

Onitis Pecuarius

Dark brown/black colouration, between 15-20mm, no horns.

Season: Summer

Active: December - February

Horns: None

Length: 15mm - 20mm

Colour: Black

Pattern: N/A

Onitis Vanderkelleni

Horns: None

Length: 15mm - 20mm

Colour: Black, Brown

Pattern: N/A

Onitis Viridulus

Dark brown/black colouration, between 15-20mm, no horns.

Season: Summer - Autumn

Active: December - March

Horns: None

Length: 15mm - 20mm, Greater than 20mm

Colour: Black, Brown

Pattern: N/A

Onthophagus Binodis

Mat black, between 11-13mm, males have large frontal pronotum lobe, females with smaller lobes.

Season: Summer - Autumn

Active: December - March

Horns: None

Length: 10mm - 15mm

Colour: Black, Brown

Pattern: N/A

Onthophagus Sagittarius Male

Uniformly bronze/brown colouration, 10-13mm in length, males have two small horns, females have a single horn.

Season: Spring - Summer

Active: October - January

Horns: Two

Length: 10mm - 15mm

Colour: Brown

Pattern: N/A

Onthophagus Sagittarius Female

Uniformly bronze/brown colouration, 10-13mm in length, males have two small horns, females have a single horn.

Season: Spring - Summer

Active: October - January

Horns: One

Length: 10mm - 15mm

Colour: Brown

Pattern: N/A

Onthophagus Taurus Male

Shiny black colouration, between 8-10mm, males with two long curved horns, females have no horns.

Season: Summer - Autumn

Active: December - March

Horns: Two

Length: Under 10mm

Colour: Black

Pattern: N/A

Onthophagus Taurus Female

Shiny black colouration, between 8-10mm, males with two long curved horns, females have no horns.

Season: Summer - Autumn

Active: December - March

Horns: None

Length: Under 10mm

Colour: Black

Pattern: N/A

Sisyphus Rubrus

Light–medium brown with long thin legs, between 6-8mm, no horns.

Season: Summer - Autumn

Active: November - March

Horns: None

Length: Under 10mm

Colour: Brown

Pattern: N/A

Sisyphus Spinipes

Brown to dark brown/grey with long thin legs, 9-11mm, no horns.

Season: Summer - Autumn

Active: December - February

Horns: None

Length: Under 10mm

Colour: Brown

Pattern: N/A

Contact Us!

You found out who is on your property? Contact us to learn more about that species.