Egypt, the southern part of Europe, in China, the East Indies, in Barbary and at the Cape of Good Hope, Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is black and about one inch in length.

There was also another species of the scarabæus valued by the Ancient Egyptians, that termed by Cuvier, the Ateuchus sacer Ægyptiorum, which is larger and wider than the others of its family; it is of green golden tints, and is now found principally in Egypt and Nubia. Pliny, in his Natural History says: "The green scarabæus has the property of rendering the sight more piercing, (i.e., curing fatigue of the eye from its green color,) of those who gaze upon it; hence it is, that the engravers of precious stones use these insects to steady their sight."[7] M. Latreille thinks; the species he named Ateuchus Ægyptiorum, or ἡλικοκάνθαρος, and which is of a green color, was that which especially engaged the attention of the Ancient Egyptians.

The Egyptian also held in estimation, the species Buprestis and the Cantharis and Copris, and used them as he did the members of the true family of the scarabæidæ, and S. Passalacqua found a species of Buprestis, embalmed in a tomb at Thebes.

At least four species of beetles appear to have been held in veneration and were distinguished, by the absence or presence, of striated elytra. The Ateuchus sacer is the one commonly represented on the monuments. The number of the toes, thirty, symbolized the days of the month, and the movement of the ball, which it manufactured and in which was deposited its egg, symbolized among other things, the action of Ra, the Egyptian sun-deity, at midday.

The Egyptian soldier wore the scarab as a charm or amulet, to increase bravery;[8] the women, to increase fertility. The Greeks called it, Helio-cantharus, and, not understanding its significance, were disposed to ridicule it, as is apparent from the travesty upon it by Aristophanes in his comedy of Peace. Pliny also again speaks of it in his Natural History, saying:

"The scarabæus also, that forms pellets and rolls them along. It is on account of this kind of scarabæus that the people of a great part of Egypt worship those insects as divinities, an usage for which Apion gives a curious reason, asserting, as he does, by way of justifying the rites of his nation, that the insect in its operations portrays the revolution of the sun. There is also another kind of scarabæus, which the magicians recommend to be worn as an amulet—the one that has small horns[9] thrown backwards—it must be taken up, when used for this purpose, with the left hand. A third kind also, known by the name of 'fullo' and covered with white spots, they recommend to be cut asunder and attached to either arm, the other kinds being worn upon the left arm."[10]

In the work on Egyptian hieroglyphics attributed to a writer called Horapollo, sometimes incorrectly called, Horus Apollo, the first part of which shows, that it was written by a person who was well acquainted with the Egyptian monuments and had studied them carefully, we find: "To denote an only begotten, or, generation, or, a father, or, the world, or, a man, they delineate a scarabæus. And they symbolize by this, an only begotten; because the scarabæus is a creature self-produced, being unconceived by a female; for the propagation of it is unique and after this manner:—when the male is desirous of procreating, he takes the dung of an ox, and shapes it into a spherical form like the world; he then rolls it from him by the hinder parts from East to West, looking himself towards the East, that he may impart to it the figure of the world (for that is borne from East to West, while the course of the stars is from West to East;) then having dug a hole, the scarabæus deposits this ball in the earth for the space of twenty-eight days, (for in so many days the moon passes through the twelve signs of the zodiac.) By thus remaining under the moon, the race of scarabæi is endued with life; and upon the nine and twentieth day after, having opened the ball, it casts it into the water, for it is aware, that upon that day the conjunction of the moon and sun takes place, as well as the generation of the world. From the ball thus opened in the water, the animals, that is the scarabæi, issue forth. The scarabæus also symbolizes generation, for the reason before mentioned;—and a father, because the scarabæus is engendered by a father only;—and the world because in its generation it is fashioned in the form of the world;—and a man, because there is not any female race among them. Moreover there are three species of scarabæi, the first like a cat,[11] and irradiated, which species they have consecrated to the sun from this similarity; for they say that the male cat changes the shape of the pupils of his eyes according to the course of the sun; for in the morning at the rising of the god, they are dilated, and in the middle of the day become round, and about sunset, appear less brilliant; whence also, the statue of the god in the city of the sun[12] is of the form of a cat. Every scarabæus also has thirty toes, corresponding to the thirty days duration of the month, during which the rising sun performs his course. The second species is the two-horned and bull-formed; which are consecrated to the moon; whence the children of the Egyptians say, that the bull in the heavens is the exaltation of this goddess. The third species is, the one-horned and Ibis-formed, which they regard as sacred to Hermes (i.e., Thoth.) in like manner as the bird."[13][14]

Horapollo also says: "To denote Hephæstos (Ptah,) they delineate a scarabæus and a vulture, and to denote Athena (Neith,) a vulture and a scarabæus."[15]

The scarabæus also had an astronomical value and is placed on some