Dung Beetle

Common Name – Dung Beetle

Distribution – Throughout India

Habit  –

Habitat  –  Farmland, forest, grassland, and desert habitats

Food –

• Dung beetles feed on dung
• Few species feast on mushrooms, carrion, decaying leaves and fruits

Specific properties –

• Bio indicators of ecosystem, sensitive to changes.
• Decomposers in forest ecosystem
• Recycle nutrients by breaking down dung into the soil
• Seed dispersals
• Increases soil aeration, and reduces parasites
• Aerates and improves soil by digging tunnels
• Improving the soil humus by burying dung
• Help in plant growth

Wonder facts –

• 7000 dung beetle species documented globally
• Dung beetles can move dung balls weighing up to 50 times the animal’s own weight.
• Owls have been seen using animal poop as bait to trap dung beetles for food