Dave Taylor's African Safari: Scavengers and Decomposers - Dung Beetles

Scavengers and Decomposers
Dung Beetles
Page 10

Dung beetles are also known as scarabs. All dung beetles make balls out of dung.

There are thousands of dung beetles in the world and over 1,800 species in Africa alone! They are widespread and found in a variety of habitats. The largest are 7 centimeters long (3 inches) long. There are three different groups of dung beetles: endocoprids, paracoprids and telecoprids. The endocoprids mate, lay their eggs and then remain in the dung that they buried to feed. They are the smallest of the three types.

The paracoprids dig a tunnel beneath the dung and lower it into the hole. They do not roll the dung ball away.

The telecoprids roll the dung ball away to a new location and then bury it. By rolling it away they avoid competing with other beetles.

Dung beetles awake from aestivation in the ground when the rains come. The beetles fly off in search of dung in which to lay their eggs. They locate the dung by smell, more than sight.

Breeding

Often, several dung beetles will converge on the same pile of droppings. Fights occur as each beetle vies for a choice "morsel".

Dung beetles can move over 200 times their own weight of a dung a day! A 2 centimeter (3/4 inch) beetle can bury 100 cubic centimeters (6 cubic inches) in a night. Given the millions of beetles in the Serengeti-Mara, that is no small feat! It takes about three minutes for the beetles to remove a typical wildebeest dropping. Elephant dung takes longer.

Some species of dung beetles bury their treasure where it fell. Others roll it away to a safer place. In both cases, they help return the nitrogen rich dropping to the soil where it enriches the earth and the ecosystem.

During the early part of the season, the dung is used strictly for food. The beetles eat the unprocessed plant material that passed through the herbivore’s digestion tract intact. Later, a dung ball serves to attract a female. She will lay a single egg in it after it is buried. The grub feeds on the material when it hatches.

Predators: Many species eat dung beetles. Included in the list are banded mongooses, jackals, lilac-breasted rollers, augur buzzards, marabou storks, sacred ibis, goshawks and monitor lizards. These are just a few of the many species.

There is even a type of plant that "eats" dung beetles. Hydnora is a parasite on the roots of acacia trees. Most of the time, the plant goes unseen but when the rains come it sends up huge, red, beetle-trap flowers. These flowers are well named. They produce a scent much like that of dung. The beetles are lured to the plant and are trapped. The flower’s petals are smooth and slippery. It is easy to get in but hard to get out. The beetles die and are ingested by the plant. Having gained nourishment, the flower dies and the plant continues to thrive underground.

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