Dung beetle

A beetle that feeds on or nests in animal dung, often shaping it into food stores where its larvae develop.

Ball rolling: The behavior of shaping material into a ball and rolling it across a surface. Some dung beetles roll dung balls away from a source before burying or eating them.
Coleoptera: The insect order comprising beetles, distinguished by hardened forewings called elytra. Dung beetles are beetles, with the defining body plan of this order.
Ecosystem services: Benefits that people obtain from ecological processes and functioning ecosystems. Dung removal by beetles can improve several processes valuable to livestock systems.
Onthophagus taurus: A dung beetle species known for horned males and flexible competition over mates. Its larvae develop in dung provisions, and its male horns illustrate sexual selection.
Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture: The release of greenhouse gases from agricultural activities, including livestock and manure management. Dung burial can alter how long manure remains exposed and how its gases are produced.
Brood ball: A compact mass of food prepared as a developing offspring’s provision. Many dung beetles form dung into brood balls for their larvae.
Scarabaeidae: A large beetle family that includes scarabs, chafers, and many dung-feeding species. Most well-known dung beetles are scarab beetles.
Nutrient cycling: The movement and reuse of chemical elements through organisms and the environment. Buried dung returns nutrients to soil and makes them available to plants.
Scarabaeus satyrus: A nocturnal South African dung beetle that can navigate by the Milky Way. This species provided a striking demonstration of celestial orientation during ball rolling.
Parasitic worms: Worms that live in or on hosts and obtain resources at their expense. Removing dung can interrupt the development of some livestock parasites outside their hosts.

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