Ateuchus lecontei

Status

Beneficial

Common name(s)

Leconte's dung beetle

Taxonomy

Family: Scarabaeidae Subfamily: Scarabaeinae Genus: Ateuchus Species: Ateuchus lecontei (Harold, 1868)

DNA barcode

none available

Adult diagnosis

Total body length 4.0–7.0 mm (0.16–0.28 in). Body shape round (dorsal view); may be caked in dung. Color shiny black. Eye shape semicircular when viewed from above. MandiblesMandibles:
The crushing or chewing portion of an insects mouthparts
not visible when viewed from above. Clypealclypeal:
of, or referring to, the clypeus
apexapex:
point or edge furthest from the body
bidentate. Front tibiatibia:
a segment of the leg articulated with the tarsus and femur
with apical spurspur:
movable, spine-like process, sometimes mobile, often found at or near the tibial apices
bifurcatebifurcate:
a process dividing into two points
in male; spurspur:
movable, spine-like process, sometimes mobile, often found at or near the tibial apices
pointed in female; often worn or missing in older individuals. Middle and hind legs not greatly elongate.

Larval diagnosis

Undescribed. For Ateuchus species (Ritcher, 1966Ritcher, 1966:
Ritcher P. 1966. White grubs and their allies: a study of North American scarabaeoid larvae. Oregon State University Monographs, Studies in Entomology 4: 1-219.): Grub C-shaped, with projecting hump, cylindrical, whitish. Maxillamaxilla:
set of paired mouthparts located posterior to the mandibles
with galeagalea:
outer branch or lobe of the maxilla
and lacinialacinia:
inner portion of the maxilla
distinctly separated. Epipharynxepipharynx:
lobe on the interior surface of the labrum or clypeus
with tormaetormae:
in scarab larvae, sclerotized structures on the ends of the clypeolateral suture extending towards the mesal line
united mesallymesally:
at or near midline of body
, anterioranterior:
the front or forward; opposite of posterior
phoba present. tormaetormae:
in scarab larvae, sclerotized structures on the ends of the clypeolateral suture extending towards the mesal line
-segmented; distaldistal:
situated away from the point of articulation, thus usually furthest from the body
segment of antennaantenna:
paired sensory organ on head, formed from numerous segments
greatly reduced in size. Prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
the chitinous plate behind the head of larvae
without anteriorly projecting processes. Third abdominal segment without a prominent, conical, dorsaldorsal:
of or relating to the upper surface; opposite of ventral
gibbosity. Venter of last abdominal segment with 2 monostichousmonostichous:
occurring in single vertical row
, longitudinal palidiapalidia:
paired group(s) of recumbent (reclining) spines, usually occurring in rows; part of the raster
. Legs 2-segmented; claws absent.

Native range

Southeastern U.S.. In the U.S., this species is known from the Atlantic coastal plain from New Jersey south through Florida and east to Alabama (Woodruff, 1973Woodruff, 1973:
Woodruff R. 1973. The scarab beetles of Florida (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) part I. The Laparosticti (Subfamilies: Scarabaeinae, Aphodiinae, Hybosorinae, Ochodaeinae, Geotrupinae, Acanthocerinae). Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas 8: 1-220.).

Plant host(s)

None. This species feeds on dung as both an adult and larvalarva:
the immature form of an insect; in scarabs, also called grub or white grub; preceded by the egg stage, followed by the pupal stage
. There are no records of this dung beetle feeding on live plant tissues, although adults have been recorded on rotten, fallen fruit (Woodruff, 1973Woodruff, 1973:
Woodruff R. 1973. The scarab beetles of Florida (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) part I. The Laparosticti (Subfamilies: Scarabaeinae, Aphodiinae, Hybosorinae, Ochodaeinae, Geotrupinae, Acanthocerinae). Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas 8: 1-220.).

Life history

(Woodruff, 1973Woodruff, 1973:
Woodruff R. 1973. The scarab beetles of Florida (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) part I. The Laparosticti (Subfamilies: Scarabaeinae, Aphodiinae, Hybosorinae, Ochodaeinae, Geotrupinae, Acanthocerinae). Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas 8: 1-220.): Although the life history of this species is poorly known, related Ateuchus species are dung burrowers, with adults creating a burrow 25.4–30.5 cm (10.0–12.0 in) beneath a fecal source. A burrow is provisioned with dung, and a single egg is laid near the entrance of the burrow. The nocturnal adults have been observed on cattle, dog, and human feces. Additional food sources include fungi, carrion, and rotting fruit.

Pest potential

None. This species recycles dung and is beneficial for ranching and farming in Hawaii. Primarily being a dung feeder, this species has never been recorded damaging crop or ornamental plants. Additionally, this species is not a threat to native dung beetles because none occur in Hawaii or Guam.

Status in Hawaii

Established. This species was intentionally released at Ewa on Oahu in August of 1963 (Davis and Krauss, 1964Davis and Krauss, 1964:
Davis C and Krauss N. 1964. Recent introductions for biological control in Hawaii—IX. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 18:391-398. full text , DOI (accessed 2015)). Similar dung beetle introductions were undertaken to help control populations of the horn fly (Haematobia irritans), a biting pest of livestock (Markin and Yoshioka, 1998Markin and Yoshioka, 1998:
Markin G and Yoshioka E. 1998. Biological control of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans L., in Hawai'i (Diptera: Muscidae). Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 33: 43-50. full text (accessed 2015)). It is known only from Oahu (Nishida, 2002Nishida, 2002:
Nishida G (editor). 2002. Hawaiian terrestrial arthropod checklist, fourth edition. Bishop Museum Technical Report 22: 1-313.).

Status in Guam

Not established or recorded. There are no records of this species from Guam.

Potential distribution and dispersal pathway

In Hawaii, this species was intentionally released.

Similar species

This scarab could be confused with small, similarly colored Hawaiian Onthophagus spp. or Hybosorus roei. It is easily separated from these, however, by examination of the clypealclypeal:
of, or referring to, the clypeus
apexapex:
point or edge furthest from the body
(Ateuchus lecontei with apexapex:
point or edge furthest from the body
bidentate versus Onthophagus with the apexapex:
point or edge furthest from the body
entire or sinuatesinuate:
gently curved (specifically of margins or edges); often in reference to the clypeus
) and mandiblesmandibles:
The crushing or chewing portion of an insects mouthparts
(Ateuchus lecontei with mandiblesmandibles:
The crushing or chewing portion of an insects mouthparts
hidden under clypeusclypeus:
part of the head anterior to the frons; the most anterior portion in dorsal view
when viewed from above versus mandiblesmandibles:
The crushing or chewing portion of an insects mouthparts
clearly visible from above in Hybosorus roei).

Other names (synonyms)

Choeridium lecontei Harold

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