RESUMO: Insects exhibit metabolic strategies for energy storage that influence their responses to environmental changes. Although the physiological effects of disturbances on Scarabaeinae have been studied, sex is often treated as a secondary factor. We used the dung beetle Dichotomius (Dichotomius) bos (Blanchard, 1845) to assess whether sex significantly affects individual traits and physiological condition. Specimens of both sexes were collected from a low-impact pastureland fragment during the rainy season using baited pitfall traps with cattle dung. Individuals were sexed based on cephalic horn morphology and abdominal characters, and dry biomass, fat content, and body size were measured. Fat reserves increased proportionally with dry biomass in both sexes, but females showed a steeper increase per unit of biomass. No significant relationship was detected between body size and fat content. These findings indicate that sexual dimorphism should be considered a central factor in understanding ecological dynamics, and that differences in energy storage strategies between males and females may shape their responses to environmental stress in altered landscapes.