Every since I was a small child I became immersed in Egyptian History. I grew up wearing a scarab amulet my mother got as a girl while just was growing up in Libya m much like the one I chose to get tattooed on me. Here so interesting background on my chest piece. :) The life-saving scarab beetle became important to Egyptian culture (and to farmers in particular) after a period of global warming permanently dried up the tributaries to the river Nile, thus reducing the available arable land. The scarab, or dung beetle, would emerge from the ground in its adult phase, and convert human and animal excrement into much needed fertilizer.
The adult scarab gathers dung into a ball, and rolls it along the ground to deposit into a hole, in which the female will lay her larvae. This activity reminded the Egyptians of the Sun’s daily path and subsequent renewal. Over time, folk would link the scarab with the sunrise and the god/netjer Khepri. People would carry scarab shaped amulets. The winged scarab (the scarab flanked by the wings of a falcon) offers a double whammy in terms of an amulet, representing earth and solar power. These winged talismans, used particularly in funerary rites, would protect the deceased on his/her journey to the afterlife.