Dung Beetles
Subfamily Scarabaeinae
Celestial Navigators
Dung beetles are among the first insects shown to steer by the Milky Way; Bogong moths also use the stars. By observing the band of light from our galaxy and the polarization of moonlight, they can maintain a perfectly straight path while rolling their dung balls at night.
World-Record Strength
The male Onthophagus taurus is officially the strongest insect in the world. It can pull 1,141 times its own body weight. To put this in perspective, that is the equivalent of an average human pulling six double-decker buses full of people!
A Fierce Competition
Fresh dung is a hot commodity. Hundreds of beetles can descend on a single pile of elephant dung within minutes. This creates a "race" where rollers must move their balls away quickly before a rival beetle tries to steal
Field notes
| Range | Cosmopolitan |
|---|---|
| Lifespan | Adult: Varies widely, usually a few months to over a year |
| Size | 3 to 50 mm |
| Weight | Fractions of a gram to several grams for the largest species |
| Colour | Generally dark and robust: black, brown, or dull metallic black |
| Diet | Animal dung |
In the book
The Dung Beetles is number 60 of the 101 creatures in Glowing Bugs. Its two pages show it from three sides, at its true size, with a map of where it lives. The plate is an artistic interpretation and does not show the true colours of the living animal.
