Copris are also common archeological finds in

Minoan Crete, although it is not known to what

extent these are connected.

The ancient Egyptians are not the only people

to have incorporated beetles into their creation

mythology. The Cochiti people of the

southwestern US have a story about the desert

beetles of the genus Eleodes (Tenebrionidae),

which raise their abdomen when they are

alarmed to release a defensive secretion. The

Cochiti tell that the beetles are hiding their face

because long ago they had the task of arranging

the stars in the sky, and they dropped them,

leaving the randomly scattered pattern we see

today. They are so ashamed of this mishap that

when they hear someone approach, they hide

their head in the dirt.

left | Scarabaeus sacer The Sacred

Scarab rolling a dung ball. This became

a metaphor for the ancient Egyptian 

scarab-headed god Khepri rolling the

sun across the sky.

above | Eleodes (Tenebrionidae)

showing the characteristic defense posture

with the abdomen raised that inspired

Native American creation stories.