Animal Poop

Ah, poop. It's not the most glamorous part of nature, but it sure is one of the most important, especially for dung beetles! Dung beetles are a large group (several thousand species!) of insects found in many habits on every continent except Antarctica. They get the name 'dung' beetle because of their, well, interest in eating dung. Dung beetles rely on scat from larger animals to feed both themselves and their offspring. Most dung beetles will lay their eggs inside of the dung to provide an endless food supply to the larva. There are 3 types of dung beetles.

Dwellers typically find a nutritious pile of dung and lay their eggs right in the pile. This method leaves the eggs and larva vulnerable to predators and poor weather conditions. Tunnelers dig a tunnel underneath a pile a dung where they will store dung and lay their eggs. This method provides more protection to the eggs and larva. Rollers are perhaps the most interesting. They roll dung into large balls (often much larger than themselves) and roll the ball to an area with soft soil. There, they bury the ball of dung, mate, and lay their eggs. Bury the dung ball keeps the offspring safe and fed while also adding important nutrients to the soil. All of this poop talk can be exhausting, but at least you're not pushing a ball of dung 10 times your body weight.