The Scarab Beetles Of Florida

Beetles of the family Scarabaeidae are both destructive and beneficial. Many, like the Japanese beetle and Asiatic garden beeile, along with the larvae or “white grubs”, cause millions of dollars damage annually. Others are economically important because they are intermediate hosts for parasites of domestic animals. Most of the dung beetles are important elements in the pasture ecosystem where they annually break down tons of animal dung. By doing so they incorporate much of it into the soil, increasing fertility, and at the same time destroying the habitat for the larvae of many pest flies.

This group of beetles is one of the largest in the animal kingdom, represented by perhaps 30,000 species. Scarabs have been subjects of interest throughout recorded history. They were worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, and their images are found in precious stones of both ancient and modern jewelry. Many of the early naturalists (e.g., Fabre) found their behavior unique and fascinating, but it is still poorly understood today. Few generalizations can be made, because of the specific nature of the biology, ecology, and behavior of each species. The present faunal study is provided as a manual to assist in the identification of the Florida species.

The specific identity of an organism is paramount to an understanding of the role it plays in the environment. The name is the “key” to the published literature, and an absolute must before controls are attempted. It is unfortunate that we do not have adequate guides for insect identification as we do with birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. There are inherent difficulties because of insects’ small size; but the primary reason for the lack of such identification manuals is that thorough faunal studies have not been conducted on much of our planet. Dr. Woodruff’s manual is based on an extensive survey over a 15 year period and on the examination of over 1 million specimens. He brings together all the existing information about each species, provides drawings and photographs, and presents keys for the identification of the Florida scarabs.

Dr. Woodruff was born on 20 July 1933 at Kennard, Ohio. He has been interested in the natural sciences since childhood, and he entered the Junior Science Fairs of the Ohio Academy of Science, in 1950 and 1951, receiving superior awards both years and a scholarship to any of the 10 state universities. He enrolled at Wabash College (Crawfordsville, Ind.) in 1951, and the following year he transferred to Ohio State University from which he received the B.S. degree in 1956.

From 1952 to 1955 he was an assistant in the Dept. of Natural History of the Ohio State Museum where he gained valuable experience and training under Dr. Edward S. Thomas and Mr. Robert Goslin. From 1955 to 1957 he held a graduate assistantship in the Dept. of Zoology and Entomology at Ohio State University, under Prof. J. N. Knull. It was this experience which led him to specialization on the beetle family Scarabaeidae. Prof. Knull introduced him to the “scratch board” technique of beetle drawings which he has used in most of his publications and for the 32 habitus drawings presented herein.

From 1957 to 1958 he was employed as a medical entomologist with the Kentucky State Health Dept. (Louisville) working on St. Louis Encephalitis and related mosquito projects. He attended special courses of instruction on insects of medical importance from the U. S. Public Health Service, Communicable Disease Center, Atlanta, and from the Tennessee Valley Authority, Wilson Dam, Alabama.

In March 1958 he joined the staff of entomologists at the State Plant Board of Florida (now Division of Plant Industry). He was initially employed as the “Survey Entomologist” to coordinate the federal-state Cooperative Economic Insect Survey which he fulfilled until 1963. His taxonomic responsibilities are for the insect orders Orthoptera and Coleoptera. His current duties include the identification and curatorial responsibilities for these orders and the development of the entomological portion of the DPI library.

In September 1963 he entered the Graduate School of the University of Florida, from which he received the PhD degree in 1967. As a part of his studies he attended a session of the Organization for Tropical Studies at the University of Costa Rica. His research for the dissertation culminated in the original version of the present study. In the subsequent 5 years much study and collecting has resulted in more than doubling the data on Florida scarabs.

His research has taken him to much of the U. S. and the following countries where he has collected and studied specimens: Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Venezuela. He has attended more than 20 national and international scientific meetings, including the recent 14th International Congress of Entomology in Canberra, Australia.

He has presented papers at meetings of the Entomological Society of America, Florida Entomological Society, National Pest Control Association, Ohio Academy of Sciences, and Sociedad Mexicana de Entomologia.

He is a member of the Association for Tropical Biology, Coleopterists Society, Entomological Society of America, Florida Entomological Society, Gamma Sigma Delta, Phi Kappa Psi, Sigma Xi, Sociedad Mexicana de Entomologia, and Society of Systematic Zoology.

He has been a Research Associate in Natural Sciences of the Florida State Museum since 1962. He was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the “North American Beetle Fauna Project.” He has served as merit badge counsellor for the Boy Scouts in all Natural History subjects. He has received grants from the Ohio Academy of Sciences, United States Public Health Service, National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, United States Department of Agriculture, Australian Academy of Sciences, and the Florida State Museum. In 1971 he attended the Summer Institute for Systematics at the Smithsonian Institution. He is listed in American Men of Science, Directory of Coleoptera Collections, Directory of Zoological Taxonomists, International Scholars Directory, Personalities of the South, and Who’s Who in the South and Southwest.

He served as Editor for the “Journal of the Newell Entomological Society” when he was President in 1965- 66. He was Editor of the “Coleopterists Newsletter” in 1970. He has been Associate Editor of the “Florida Entomologist” since 1969. He has been Editor of the “Coleopterists Bulletin” since 1971. He was recently appointed as Managing Editor of “Insect World Digest.”

He has published over 80 scientific papers, most of which deal with his primary research interests on the systematics, biology, arid ecology of the beetle family Scarabaeidae, with special emphasis on dung beetles and those inquilines associated with ants and termites. Recently his design was chosen in competition as the symbol for the XV International Congress of Entomology to be held in Washington, D. C. in 1976.

Harold A. Denmark
Chief of Entomology
Division of Plant Industry
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services