The animal kingdom is filled with amazing species of animals that are categorized into classes. Believe it or not, these classes represent thousands of species that share lots of things in common, while being diverse at the same time. The less commonly discussed class in the world of tourism is the phenomenal section of Insecta, the mother group for insects, who are some of the most beautiful creatures in the world! Even though they vary greatly in size and behavior, they still play great and important role in the environment, as well as in recreation. On any given safari, the presence of mammals within extensive savannahs is always complemented by the appearance of these small creatures of old. But the story doesn’t get more interesting without the African dung beetle.
Dung beetles are some of the most fascinating insects on the planet, containing over 6000 species worldwide and an estimated 2000 in Africa. Their activities pose ideas of curiosity to anyone that comes across them. At just surface level view, the beetles are seen engaging in high level missions that leave many with both thoughts and wonder, if not amazement and banter. Such missions and activities include carrying around balls of dung that are usually bigger than their size, a phenomenon that makes many rank them the strongest insects in the world. In fact, one of their species, Taurus scarab is the strongest insect on earth and often gets the credit for lifting things ten times its size. Research indicates that they are able to lift 1141 times their weight. They also use that strength to their advantage during mating season to fend off competitors and claim a female to mate with.
The mating story of dung beetles isn’t just like any other. Females tend to judge potential mates by the size of their balls. After establishing the relationship, the female usually attaches itself on the dung ball chariot and the male rolls them away from the dung parallelly. The male does this backwards by pushing the ball using the hind legs. Along the way, the heroic male tends to meet other parties that are interested in the dungball in which cases fights always ensue. After the process of rolling and reaching the destination, the male and female couple then digs a small hole in the soft sand. The female then lays her eggs inside the dungball and then fills them up using more dung, saliva and her own feces. When the baby dung beetle is born, it eats its way out.
Forced to walk a diet of dung, the beetle doesn’t live any life that many people can admire. A dung beetle finds its food by utilizing the acute sense of smell after which it rolls its choice piece into a ball. The strong insect tends to prefer omnivorous dung as compared to carnivorous one because the former is more odiferous. Dung beetles tend to want feeding on dung from animals they aren’t used to. They have a very limited taste and tend to feed on fresh animal droppings. In many national parks, they tend to like elephant droppings among the herbivores. Buffalo dung is finer and more difficult to roll, so they use it for their eggs. They usually lay one egg, although some cases come with upto 3 eggs. However, they play a great role in the environment and can be credited for making many soils fertile, owing to their digging activities of dung into the soil. This fertility has been partly responsible for vegetation growth and grass prevalence which makes many herbivores happy. Soil activities of the beetle also help in distribution of nutrients within the soil and in lowering greenhouse gas emissions. They do this lowering by feeding on the dung which would later have decomposed anaerobically to produce methane.
Beetles are very had to spot since they spend most of their dies trying to stay cool underground. They navigate by the sun and the stars. It is said that when the beetles get on top of the dung, they are taking a mental snapshot of the sky to find their way home. They compare their memories to the current position of the stars.
Like many other living beings, dung beetles always have to watch their back. This is because their trail is closely monitored by the bullfrogs and other predators that consider them delicious and a great feast.
Beetles were declared endangered by IUCN. Their decline is partly credited to use of drugs in animal treatment. Drugs like lodos and ivermectin pass unchanged through animals and when they are ingested by the beetles, their abilities to reproduce are tempered with.
In Uganda, dung beetles can easily be seen in Kibale Forest National Park. While there, they complement the activities of chimpanzee trekking, birding and community visits.