Nests and brood balls of coprophanaeus (Coprophanaeus) Cyanescens (Olsoufieff, 1924) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

Abstract

Twenty nests of Coprophanaeus (Coprophanaeus) cyanescens (Olsoufieff) were studied in the field and described herein for the first time. They are paracoprid, subterranean (simple), and basically L-shaped. Nine pear-shaped brood balls were obtained in situ. The brood balls display a protuberance that is separated from the provision chamber by a partition of soil material. However, no constriction between them is externally recognizable. The brood balls exhibit a thick wall composed of soil material. In the upper part of the brood ball, the wall is wide enough to include the complete spherical egg chamber. The egg chamber lacks an organic lining. Between the top of the protuberance and the egg chamber, there is an aeration conduit connecting the egg chamber to the exterior via a filter of loose soil. The provision chambers are filled with carnivore/omnivore feces or carrion, mainly pig fat, which originated from remains discarded from a nearby slaughterhouse. The brood balls are surrounded and penetrated by roots. The wall shows traces (pits) produced by the appendages of the brood ball constructor and borings and fecal pellets attributed to earthworms.