A method for sexing final instar larvae of the genus Onthophagus Latreille (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Dung beetles of the genus Onthophagus Latreille are used as model systems in behavioral ecology, evolutionary biology, and insect development. In the past, studies on the developmental control of larval and adult form, and studies that seek to integrate development, evolution, and ecology, have been handicapped by experimenters' inability to determine the sex of developing larvae. Here we present a straightforward, reliable, and non-invasive method that permits sexing of Onthophagus Latreille larvae during their early to mid third instar.