{"id":6098,"date":"2023-12-30T17:41:14","date_gmt":"2023-12-30T17:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pawel.stefanoff.pl\/bugs\/?p=6098"},"modified":"2026-07-06T17:43:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T17:43:38","slug":"2023-12-faula-scarab-beetles-in-la-perla-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pawel.stefanoff.pl\/bugs\/posts\/2023-12-faula-scarab-beetles-in-la-perla-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Shadows of the rainforest floor: The secret life of Faula scarab beetles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scarab beetles in the genus <em>Faula<\/em> belong to a group of New World leaf chafers (subfamily <em>Melolonthinae<\/em>) native to Central and South America. The larvae of this genus, commonly known as white grubs, are distinguished by their symmetrical head capsules and specialized mouthparts (epipharynx) adapted for living and feeding within specific forest soils and organic detritus. The adults are typically nocturnal, spending daylight hours hiding in the soil or under leaf litter, and emerging only as the humidity rises. Like other members of the <em>Scarabaeidae<\/em> family, <em>Faula<\/em> adults feature distinct, lamellate (clubbed) antennae with flattened plates that can be fanned open to detect pheromones and environmental scents. I encountered this elegant scarab beetle resting quietly on the foliage in the protected forest of La Perla on the coast of Ecuador.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scarab beetles in the genus Faula belong to a group of New World leaf chafers (subfamily Melolonthinae) native to Central [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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