Sacred Scarab

Scarabaeus sacer, the sacred scarab, is the type species of the genus Scarabaeus and of the family Scarabaeidae. It is a dung beetle native to southern Europe, North Africa and West Asia. Adults are all black and 1.9 to 4.0 centimetres long. The head has six ray-like projections, which together with the four on each front tibia make an arc of 14 rays. Wikipedia says the ancient Egyptians held the species sacred and saw it as a symbol of Khepri, the early-morning form of the sun god Ra, because the beetle rolls a ball of dung as Khepri rolled the sun. The article adds that they also believed the male reproduced without a female, and drew a parallel with the god Atum. This entry rests on that one article. It records the beetle and its Egyptian symbolism, and it says nothing about collecting, trade or how a scarab is used in practice today.