Do dung beetles also "pick up poop"? Why do they roll dung balls?

Expert: Zhang Qikai, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, PhD in Insect Ecology

Dung Beetle

An insect with a name that smells like a scent

Speaking of it

I think it will appear before everyone's eyes

The picture of him "bowed his head and rolled the dung ball"

Rolling dung ball

It can be said to be their "big event in insect life"

Its selection of feces

There are also certain standards

Does rolling a dung ball require skill?

Why do dung beetles roll dung balls?

What kind of poop do they like?

Look down

There are many things you don't know

Dung beetle family

Dung beetles, also known as dung beetles, also have many nicknames, such as push balls, black bulls, iron-armored generals, night-wandering generals, cart-pushing bugs, and scarabs. They are burly, like warriors in armor, but with a disproportionately small head. There are nearly 5,000 recorded species of dung beetles in the world, and they can push dung balls on any continent except the ocean and Antarctica.

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Fabre, a famous French entomologist, praised dung beetles in the first chapter of his book The Insect World. He wrote: "A beautiful little creature like a dung beetle is worthy of being placed in a naturalist's collection box." Even though the working environment is very dirty, when dung beetles leave the work site (feces), they actually pay attention to hygiene and dress up. Usually, their clothes are very plain.

Why do dung beetles roll dung balls?

Dung beetles dig, rub and roll in dung piles all day long, enjoying this, not only for themselves but also for the whole family. They are responsible insects. The main functions of rolling dung balls are as follows:

Food: The feces of animals such as cattle and sheep contain a lot of organic matter, which is exactly the food for dung beetles. In addition to eating them at the time, they also store them and enjoy them slowly. At the same time, they can also provide the needs for laying eggs, so that the small dung beetle larvae can get sufficient nutrients from the beginning of hatching.

Delivery room: After the dung beetle couple pushes the dung ball into the ground during the breeding period, the female dung beetle will make one end of the dung ball into a pear shape, and then lay a milky white wheat-like egg in the neck of the pear-shaped dung ball. This neck is both a delivery room and a nursery. A female dung beetle can lay hundreds of eggs, so the dung beetle couple must prepare enough dung balls.

Courtship: When a female dung beetle sees a male dung beetle pushing a dung ball, she will show her admiration for him, so she will help the male dung beetle push the dung ball, and they may eventually reproduce together.

Does rolling a dung ball require skill?

The dung beetle uses its small shovel-shaped head with hard horns like a rake to dig up feces, and uses its broom-like serrated front legs to collect feces under its belly. It then rubs the feces with its middle and hind legs, making the feces rotate and roll continuously, and finally rubs it into a ball.

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Then they start pushing, head down, front legs on the ground, buttocks raised, long hind legs on the dung ball, and push the dung ball, which is bigger than themselves, with all their strength to move backwards. If one dung beetle can't push, another will come to help. They never avoid steep slopes and dangerous ditches, often pushing to the top of the slope, and then rolling down with the dung ball, but they will not give up, but start again, and never give up until they achieve their goal.

In addition, scientists have discovered that when rolling dung balls, dung beetles use polarized light from the sun and moon to locate themselves. When there is no sun or moon, they can also use the weak light from the stars to locate themselves. Therefore, on cloudy days when there are no stars, dung beetles are mentally devastated and will just circle around.

Dung beetles also “pick poop”?

Dung beetles are also very picky eaters. There are all kinds of poop in the world, and they will choose their favorite poop based on the nutrition, shape, and taste of the poop.

From a nutritional perspective, dung beetles like the poop of omnivores and carnivores because these poops are high in fat and protein and low in sugar, making them the easiest to absorb and the most nutritious. From a shape perspective, dung beetles like sheep poop because it is the right size, does not stick to their hands and does not need to be re-rubbed, making it easy and enjoyable for them to roll around. In addition to nutrition and shape, dung beetles also choose poop based on its taste.

What is the role of dung beetles in nature?

Nature's scavengers: Dung beetles tirelessly push dung balls around the world, cleaning our planet like cleaners to prevent nature from becoming a stinking wasteland and obstructing the material cycle of the ecosystem.

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Decomposing feces and humus: They decompose feces and humus to increase the moisture and organic matter content of the soil under the cow dung pile, reduce the soil pH value, improve the physical and chemical properties of the soil, and benefit the growth of surrounding plants.

Spreading plant seeds: The seeds of many plants are excreted in the feces of herbivorous animals, and then pushed to other places by dung beetles, thereby being spread secondary.

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