The scarabs are an extremely diverse family of beetles – in appearance, habit and habitat.

Scarab Beetles are typically stocky in body shape and have lamellate antennae - that is, the last few segments of their antenna have flattened plates on them. These plates can be spread apart to look quite feathery or closed tightly to look like clubs. Scarabs can be brightly coloured, metallic, shiny or dull in appearance. Some are smooth, others have ridges or spines on their exoskeletons. They range in size from 2 mm to 80 mm. The males of some species often look quite different to the females; for instance, male Rhinoceros Beetles have huge horns on their heads and females don't.

Scarab Beetles eat all sorts of things - flowers and leaves, roots of grass and trees, decaying wood, carrion and even faeces. (Dung Beetles.) Some are hunters, preying on ants and termites. The adult forms of some species don't eat at all! Most Scarab larvae eat fresh or decaying plant matter. Some Scarabs, such as the Cane Beetle and Auger Beetle, are considered pests.

There are over 2,200 species of Scarab Beetle in Australia and new species are still being discovered.