''Blaps polychresta'', commonly known as the Egyptian beetle, South African beetle or cellar beetle, is a species of beetle in the family

Tenebrionidae Darkling beetle is the common name for members of the beetle family Tenebrionidae. The number of species in the Tenebrionidae is estimated at more than 20,000 and the family is cosmopolitan in distribution. Taxonomy ''Tenebrio'' is the Latin gen ...

. This species is a popular

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

and can live up to 4-5 years. Although this species is introduced to Australia, America , it is not considered a pest, and is rather commonly found in chicken coops where the chickens feast on this species.

Taxonomy

''Blaps polychresta'' has one junior synonym, ''Blaps sulcata''. ( Fabricius, 1775, not to be confused with Laporte de Castelnau, 1980)

Distribution

The species is found naturally across from Syria to Egypt, but has also been introduced to Australia, particularly Southern Australia and Western Victoria via

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Clipper ship A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century Merchant ship, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had ...

s carrying grain, and to

Northern America Northern America is the northernmost subregion of North America. The boundaries may be drawn slightly differently. In one definition, it lies directly north of Middle America (including the Caribbean and Central America).Gonzalez, Joseph. 20 ...

Diet and ecology

This species is a herbivore, feeding on residue and organic waste of animals such as rodents and birds. '' Cystocephalus algerianus'' infects the males with a rate of 1 in 105 specimens. St

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q19532622, bold = 528858 Tenebrionidae Pets Beetles described in 1775