Observations on nesting activity, life cycle, and brood ball morphometry of the Bordered Dung Beetle Oniticellus cinctus (Fabricius, 1775) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) under laboratory conditions

oleh: Amar Paul Singh, Kritish De, Shagun Mahajan, Ritwik Mondal, Virendra Prasad Uniyal

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society 2019-07-01

Deskripsi

The nesting activity, life cycle, and brood ball morphometry of the dung beetle Oniticellus cinctus (Fabricius, 1775) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) were studied under laboratory conditions for the first time in India.  The females made a brood chamber within the dung mass provided, wherein they made brood balls to lay eggs.  The life cycle includes egg, larva (three instars), pupa, and adult stages.  The total duration for the development was about one month.  The study found that there was a significant difference present in the brood ball diameter (except in the first and second instars) and brood ball weight (except in the second instar and pupa) of the six life cycle stages.  It was also found that brood ball weight and diameter have a significant positive correlation as well as a linear relationship.