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Many species of beetle have legends and beliefs told about them.

In the North American south-west, Beetle was the animal to whom Utset, the creatrix of the Sia people, entrusted the bag containing all the heavenly stars. Beetle’s curiosity got the better of him. As he peered inside, the stars began to tumble out of the bag and could not be restrained or recaptured. But Utset was upset with Beetle and struck him blind which is why beetles have no eyes. The accidental manner of their escape is why stars seem to be set in the heavens in no particular order. However, there were a few stars left in the bag, and Utset placed these in the sky as the Great Bear, Orion and the Pleiades, so that people do not become entirely lost.

The Lengua of South America believe that the giant Beetle created the Earth. Man and woman were created from the grains of earth that were discarded and they were joined together until Beetle separated them. (See Scarab Beetle.)