Scarabs are based on Scarabaeidaes, although they bear little resemblance to them. They have an ellipsoid-shaped light green body with a red plating across their forehead and back, and a pair of black-eyed black-rimmed cartoonish eyes on the front. They also have no limbs, except for a pair yellow wheels on their lower body that have long insect legs on their rims for moving them around.
In Sonic Mania Plus' Encore Mode, Scarabs look the same, except that their bodies are brown instead of light green.
In gameplay, the Scarabs simply move back and forth within their designated area. While they have no offensive attacks against the playable character, if the playable character tries attacking a Scarab from the rear, it will grab them with their mechanical limbs (without causing damage), force them into the Spin Attack and launch them in the opposite direction. although this can be used by the player to gain speed. Occasionally, they can also been seen carry a Super Ringmonitor each with their mechanical limbs. To defeat a Scarab, the player must attack it from above with the Spin Jump. In additional, if a Scarab is carrying a monitor when destroyed, it will drop it.
In the bad future, or, sometimes, the Present time frame of Metallic Madness Zone 1, Scarabs have not decayed, but move much slower. Also, like every Badnik in the game, they are powered by Little Planet flower seeds which will pop out of them when they are defeated.
Sonic Mania
In Sonic Mania, and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, the Scarabs return as enemies. In terms of design, they look exactly like they did in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, although as of the Version 1.04/RC 1.05.0713 update and the release of Sonic Mania Plus, the green armor on their "face" is now much brighter, and in Encore Mode, it is brown. Like in their original appearance, they are only found in Metallic Madness Zone.
In gameplay, the Scarabs move back and fourth while carrying objects, just like in their debut game. This time around however, they may carry around spikes instead of Item Boxes. Because it is very rare for a Scarab to hold an Item Box and the spikes they carry cannot be broken, it is very unlikely for the player to be caught between their claws. However, their empty-handed behavior can also be reproduced if they are placed through Debug Mode. Also, upon destroying a Scarab, it will release an Animal.
