{{Short description|Egyptian Beetle}} {{Expert needed|beetles|reason= this need description, looks like there a lot of room for development|date=November 2021}} {{Speciesbox | image = CSIRO ScienceImage 2456 Egyptian beetle.jpg | image_caption = ''Blaps polychresta'' in Queensland, Australia | genus = Blaps | species = polychresta | authority = (Forskål, 1775) }}
'''''Blaps polychresta''''', commonly known as the '''Egyptian beetle''', '''South African beetle''' or '''cellar beetle''', is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae. This species is a popular pet and can live up to 4-5 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bugfrenzy.com.au/product/egyptian-beetle-blaps-polychresta-pair-and-full-setup/ |title=Egyptian beetles (Blaps polychresta) with Optional Kit |publisher=Bug Frenzy |date=2021-09-17 |accessdate=2021-11-18}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2025}} Although this species is introduced to Australia and America, it is not considered a pest, and is rather commonly found in chicken coops where the chickens feast on this species.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://anic.ento.csiro.au/insectfamilies/biota_details.aspx?OrderID=25407&BiotaID=26521 |title=Coleoptera | What Bug Is That? |publisher=Anic.ento.csiro.au |date= |accessdate=2021-11-18}}</ref>
==Taxonomy== ''Blaps polychresta'' has one junior synonym, ''Blaps sulcata''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Soldati |first1=L. |last2=Kergoat |first2=G.J. |last3=Condamine |first3=F. |title=Important notes on taxonomic structure of Blaps nitens Laporte de Castelnau, 1840 with the description of new subspecies Blaps nitens medvedevi subsp. n. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Blaptini) |journal=Caucasian Entomological Bulletin |date=2009 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=231–233 |doi=10.23885/1814-3326-2009-5-2-231-233 |doi-access=free }}</ref> (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 European Clipper ships carrying grain, and to Northern America.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jungledragon.com/image/12213/egyptian_beetle_blaps_polychresta.html |title=Egyptian Beetle (Blaps polychresta) - by Graeme Ruck |publisher=JungleDragon |date= |accessdate=2021-11-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Popik|first1=Ekaterina|last2=Barroso|first2=Fábio|last3=Domingues|first3=Sara|last4=Araújo|first4=Luísa N|last5=Carvalho|first5=Carmen|last6=Fonte|first6=Miguel|date=November 2018|title=Spontaneous neonatal pneumomediastinum and spinnaker-sail sign: No Running head|url=https://researchgate.net/publication/328692299_Spontaneous_neonatal_pneumomediastinum_and_spinnaker-sail_sign_No_Running_head|journal=Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health|volume=54|issue=11|pages=1273|doi=10.1111/jpc.2_14186|pmid=30387258|s2cid=54360510}}</ref>
==Diet and ecology== This species is a herbivore, feeding on residue and organic waste of animals such as rodents and birds.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theanimalfacts.com/insects-spiders/egyptian-beetle/ |title=Egyptian Beetle - The Animal Facts - Appearance, Habitat, Diet, Lifespan |publisher=The Animal Facts |date=2020-11-02 |accessdate=2021-11-18}}</ref> ''Cystocephalus algerianus'' infects the males with a rate of 1 in 105 specimens.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rashed |first1=AA |last2=Gouda |first2=KR |title=Studies on three species of the genus Cystocephalus Schneider, 1886 (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinida: Stylocephalidae) with special reference to host specificity and distribution of members of family Stylocephalidae in Egypt |journal=Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology |date=April 2008 |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=211–23 |pmid=19143132 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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Category:Tenebrionidae Category:Beetles described in 1775 Category:Animals kept as pets