A dung beetle that path integrates without the use of landmarks

AbstractUnusual amongst dung beetles, Scarabaeus galenus digs a burrow that it provisions by making repeated trips to a nearby dung pile. Even more remarkable is that these beetles return home moving backwards, with a pellet of dung between their hind legs. Here, we explore the strategy that S. galenus uses to find its way home. We find that, like many other insects, they use path integration to calculate the direction and distance to their home. If they fail to locate their burrow, the beetles initiate a distinct looping search behaviour that starts with a characteristic sharp turn, we have called a ‘turning point’. When homing beetles are passively displaced or transferred to an unfamiliar environment, they initiate a search at a point very close to the location of their fictive burrow—that is, a spot at the same relative distance and direction from the pick-up point as the original burrow. Unlike other insects, S. galenus do not appear to supplement estimates of the burrow location with landmark information. Thus, S. galenus represents a rare case of a consistently backward-homing animal that does not use landmarks to augment its path integration strategy.

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Wood Pastures: A Transitional Habitat between Forests and Pastures for Dung Beetle Assemblages

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12010025 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 25

Author(s):

László Somay ◽

Viktor Szigeti ◽

Gergely Boros ◽

Réka Ádám ◽

András Báldi

Keyword(s):

Functional Group ◽

Animal Health ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Dung Beetle ◽

Dung Beetles ◽

Livestock Grazing ◽

Pitfall Traps ◽

Assemblage Composition ◽

Beetle Assemblages

Wood pastures are home to a variety of species, including the dung beetle. Dung beetles are an important functional group in decomposition. Specifically, in terms of livestock manure, they not only contribute to nutrient cycling but are key players in supporting human and animal health. Dung beetles, however, are declining in population, and urgent recommendations are needed to reverse this trend. Recommendations need to be based on solid evidence and specific habitats. Herein, we aimed to investigate the role of an intermediate habitat type between forests and pastures. Wood pastures are key areas for dung beetle conservation. For this reason, we compared dung beetle assemblages among forests, wood pastures, and grasslands. We complemented this with studies on the effects of dung type and season at three Hungarian locations. Pitfall traps baited with cattle, sheep, or horse dung were used in forests, wood pastures, and pasture habitats in spring, summer, and autumn. Dung beetle assemblages of wood pastures showed transient characteristics between forests and pastures regarding their abundance, species richness, Shannon diversity, assemblage composition, and indicator species. We identified a strong effect of season and a weak of dung type. Assemblage composition proved to be the most sensitive measure of differences among habitats. The conservation of dung beetles, and the decomposition services they provide, need continuous livestock grazing to provide fresh dung, as well as the maintenance of wood pastures where dung beetle assemblages typical of forests and pastures can both survive.

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A review and phylogeny of Scarabaeine dung beetle fossils (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), with the description of twoCanthochilumspecies from Dominican amber

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.1988 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. e1988 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Sergei Tarasov ◽

Fernando Z. Vaz-de-Mello ◽

Frank-Thorsten Krell ◽

Dimitar Dimitrov

Keyword(s):

Dung Beetle ◽

Dung Beetles ◽

Systematic Research ◽

Late Oligocene ◽

Geological Time ◽

Type Specimens ◽

Dominican Amber ◽

Extant Species ◽

Minimum Age ◽

Phylogenetic Hypotheses

Despite the increasing rate of systematic research on scarabaeine dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), their fossil record has remained largely unrevised. In this paper, we review all 33 named scarabaeine fossils and describe two new species from Dominican amber (Canthochilum allenisp.n.,Canthochilum philipsivieorumsp.n.). We provide a catalogue of all fossil Scarabaeinae and evaluate their assignment to this subfamily, based primarily on the original descriptions but also, where possible, by examining the type specimens. We suggest that only 21 fossil taxa can be reliably assigned to the Scarabaeinae, while the remaining 14 should be treated as doubtful Scarabaeinae. The doubtful scarabaeines include the two oldest dung beetle fossils known from the Cretaceous and we suggest excluding them from any assessments of the minimum age of scarabaeine dung beetles. The earliest reliably described scarabaeine fossil appears to beLobateuchus parisii, known from Oise amber (France), which shifts the minimum age of the Scarabaeinae to the Eocene (53 Ma). We scored the best-preserved fossils, namelyLobateuchusand the twoCanthochilumspecies described herein, into the character matrix used in a recent morphology-based study of dung beetles, and then inferred their phylogenetic relationships with Bayesian and parsimony methods. All analyses yielded consistent phylogenies where the two fossilCanthochilumare placed in a clade with the extant species ofCanthochilum, andLobateuchusis recovered in a clade with the extant generaAteuchusandAphengium. Additionally, we evaluated the distribution of dung beetle fossils in the light of current global dung beetle phylogenetic hypotheses, geological time and biogeography. The presence of only extant genera in the late Oligocene and all later records suggests that the main present-day dung beetle lineages had already been established by the late Oligocene–mid Miocene.

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Mites and internal parasites associated with the common dung beetle Geotrupes (Anoplotrupes) stercorosus (Hartmann in Scriba, 1791) in Poland

Acta Parasitologica ◽

10.1515/ap-2015-0088 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 60 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Teresa Sulgostowska ◽

Krzysztof Solarz ◽

Grażyna Madej ◽

Krzysztof Klimaszewski

Keyword(s):

Intestinal Parasites ◽

Dung Beetle ◽

Soil Characteristics ◽

Dung Beetles ◽

Internal Parasites ◽

Eastern Border ◽

The Common ◽

The Rich ◽

June July

AbstractCommon dung beetles collected in the "Sobieski Forest" (eastern border of Warsaw suburbs) were examined for the occurrence and prevalence of infections or infestations with intestinal parasites and phoretic mites in relation to soil characteristics and quality of the forest habitat. Endoparasitic fauna was represented by gregarines Didymophyes paradoxa, microsporidians Plistophora geotrupina and cysticerkoids of 2 tapeworms - Ditestolepis diaphana and Staphylocystis furcate. Prevalence of these infections was higher for beetles collected from rich habitats. Acarofauna was represented by hypopodes of Sancassania geotruporum (Astigmatina, Acaridae) and the following taxa of mesostigmatic mites: Alliphis halleri, Macrocheles glaber, Parasitus coleoptratorum and unidentified juvenile Laelapidae representative. Mites were most abundant in June, July and September. They were only slightly more numerously found on dung beetles from the rich habitats. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling, MDS (2D stress = 0.13) revealed significant similarities in the distribution of mite taxa between poor and rich sites and among the investigated months (June, July and September).

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The effects of dung beetle activity on the numbers of parasitic gastrointestinal helminth larvae recovered from pasture samples

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar9730161 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 161 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

RP Bryan

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Parasitic Nematode ◽

Dung Beetle ◽

Dung Beetles ◽

Percentage Reduction ◽

Faecal Material ◽

Gastrointestinal Helminth ◽

Nematode Eggs ◽

Cattle Faeces ◽

Onthophagus Gazella

Studies have been made of the effect of the dung beetle, Onthophagus gazella, on the release of strongyle larvae from cattle faeces onto pasture. A series of faecal pats containing parasitic nematode eggs was placed on pasture, and beetles were added to some pats to give three levels of beetle activity, viz. 100 g, 200-250 g, and 500 g of faeces per pair of beetles. These pats were duplicated on irrigated and non-irrigated pasture. In both cases the numbers of strongyle larvae migrating from pats attacked by dung beetles were significantly less than those migrating from control pats containing no dung beetles. Compared with larval recoveries from control pats, the percentage reduction in numbers of larvae migrating from pats on irrigated pasture was 50% for pats of 100 g faeces per pair of beetles, 48 % for pats of 200-250 g faeces per pair, and 84% for pats of 500 g of faeces per pair. The respective figures for pats on nonirrigated pasture were 76, 86, and 93 % reduction in larval numbers. The results indicated that strongyle larvae migrated from faecal material buried by dung beetles, provided soil moisture was adequate. More larvae were recovered from the pasture surrounding irrigated faecal pats attacked by beetles than from the non-irrigated pats. During warm dry weather, surface faecal debris remaining after beetlc attack appeared to be helminthologically sterile.

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The Rolling of Food by Dung Beetles Affects the Oviposition of Competing Flies

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects9030092 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 92

Author(s):

Manuel Ix-Balam ◽

Maria A. Oliveira ◽

Júlio Louzada ◽

Jeremy McNeil ◽

Eraldo Lima

Keyword(s):

Microbial Community ◽

Parental Care ◽

Interspecific Competition ◽

Direct Effect ◽

Dung Beetle ◽

Dung Beetles ◽

Blow Fly ◽

Chemical Substances ◽

Negative Effect ◽

Oviposition Sites

Flies are the main competitors of dung beetles for oviposition sites and rolling dung beetles relocate their food to reduce interspecific competition. Furthermore, dung beetles deposit chemical substances on the food ball that may repel fly larvae and certain predators. In the present study, using Deltochilum furcatum, a dung beetle that does not exhibit parental care and the blow-fly, Lucilia cuprina, we tested the hypothesis that pygidial secretions deposited on the food ball could also make it less attractive as an oviposition site for flies. Food balls rolled by either D. furcatum males or females received significantly fewer eggs that balls that had not been rolled by beetles. Also, flies laid significantly fewer eggs on food balls treated with secretions collected from male pygidial glands. Reduced fly oviposition may be a direct effect of compounds the beetles deposited, acting as an allomone, and/or an indirect negative effect on the microbial community that stimulates fly oviposition. A model of the reproductive biology of this species is proposed.

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Short-term post-dispersal fate of seeds defecated by two small primate species (Saguinus mystaxandSaguinus fuscicollis) in the Amazonian forest of Peru

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467409005860 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 229-238 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Laurence Culot ◽

Marie-Claude Huynen ◽

Paul Gérard ◽

Eckhard W. Heymann

Keyword(s):

Seed Dispersal ◽

Dung Beetle ◽

Dung Beetles ◽

Primate Species ◽

Seed Fate ◽

Short Term ◽

Amazonian Forest ◽

Saguinus Fuscicollis ◽

High Quality Seed ◽

Secondary Seed Dispersal

Abstract:Post-dispersal fate of seeds dispersed by large primates is well studied but little is known about this process in small frugivores like tamarins. This study in the Amazonian forest of Peru aimed at investigating if characteristics related to the defecation patterns of tamarins (Saguinus mystaxandSaguinus fuscicollis) affected short-term post-dispersal seed fate, through secondary seed dispersal by dung beetles and removal by seed predators. Data on dung beetle activity were based on direct observations of 49 defecations while seed fate was studied using semi-controlled experiments (N = 458 for secondary dispersal and N = 398 for predation). Tamarins produce small defecations with a low number of seeds. Thirty-five per cent of defecations were visited by an average of 1.5 dung beetles that usually transport the faeces as pellets. Twenty-four per cent of seeds were buried by beetles at a mean depth of 3.5 cm. With increasing quantities of faecal matter, the probability of secondary seed dispersal increased but not the depth of burial. Seed predation pressure was low (17.6%) after 4 d and higher in faeces ofS. mystaxthan in faeces ofS. fuscicollis. Despite their small size, tamarins could be considered as high-quality seed dispersers, with a potential role for forest regeneration.

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Dung burial by native and introduced dung beetles (Scarabaeidae)

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar9941799 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 45 (8) ◽

pp. 1799 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

M Tyndale-Biscoe

Keyword(s):

Introduced Species ◽

Native Species ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Dung Beetle ◽

Dung Beetles ◽

South Eastern ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

South Eastern Australia

The quantity of dung buried and shredded by dung beetles at four sites in south-eastern Australia was found to be positively correlated with the dry weight (biomass) of beetles in the pads. Each of the four sites has two abundant native species of dung beetles, and one to five well-established introduced species present. At Uriarra, where only one introduced species is common, a mean of 7 . 2 l � 1.94% (1990-91) and 6.01�1.31% (1991-92) of the dung was buried per week. At Fyshwick, with two common introduced species of dung beetles, 22.27� 4.03% (1990-91) and 12 04�2 72% (1991-92) of the dung was buried per week. Braidwood, with four introduced species, had a mean of 15.81� 2.82% (1991-92) weekly dung buried, and Araluen, with five introduced species, had 30.18�8- 73% (1992-93) dung buried per week. Dung beetle numbers were low at all sites during the first half of 1991-92 season due to a drought throughout the region. Dung shredding averaged less than 12% over the seasons at all sites, but fluctuated from 0 to 70%, depending mainly on beetle numbers in the dung pads on individual occasions. Increasing numbers of exotic dung beetles throughout the pastoral areas of Australia should result in increased amounts of dung buried and shredded, with correspondingly increased benefits to Australian agriculture.

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The role of the sun in the celestial compass of dung beetles

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2013.0036 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 369 (1636) ◽

pp. 20130036 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

M. Dacke ◽

Basil el Jundi ◽

Jochen Smolka ◽

Marcus Byrne ◽

Emily Baird

Keyword(s):

Dung Beetle ◽

Dung Beetles ◽

Relative Influence ◽

The Sun ◽

Azimuthal Position ◽

Ball Rolling ◽

Straight Line ◽

Celestial Compass ◽

Compass System

Recent research has focused on the different types of compass cues available to ball-rolling beetles for orientation, but little is known about the relative precision of each of these cues and how they interact. In this study, we find that the absolute orientation error of the celestial compass of the day-active dung beetle Scarabaeus lamarcki doubles from 16° at solar elevations below 60° to an error of 29° at solar elevations above 75°. As ball-rolling dung beetles rely solely on celestial compass cues for their orientation, these insects experience a large decrease in orientation precision towards the middle of the day. We also find that in the compass system of dung beetles, the solar cues and the skylight cues are used together and share the control of orientation behaviour. Finally, we demonstrate that the relative influence of the azimuthal position of the sun for straight-line orientation decreases as the sun draws closer to the horizon. In conclusion, ball-rolling dung beetles possess a dynamic celestial compass system in which the orientation precision and the relative influence of the solar compass cues change over the course of the day.

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Avermectin residues in sheep and cattle dung and their effects on dung-beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) colonization and dung burial

Bulletin of Entomological Research ◽

10.1017/s0007485300033617 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 81 (3) ◽

pp. 333-339 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

K. G. Wardhaugh ◽

R. J. Mahon

Keyword(s):

Dung Beetle ◽

Dung Beetles ◽

Post Treatment ◽

Toxic Effects ◽

Cattle Dung ◽

Field Observations ◽

Pitfall Traps ◽

Fly Larvae ◽

Newly Hatched Larvae

AbstractData from dung-baited pitfall traps show that dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) do not discriminate against dung from sheep or cattle treated with avermectin. On the contrary, for a period post-treatment, dung from animals treated with avermectin attracted more beetles than dung from untreated animals. This effect was more marked with cattle dung than with sheep dung. The period of enhanced attractiveness of sheep dung was restricted to dung produced during the first day after treatment, whereas with cattle dung, the effect was still evident in faeces produced 25 days after treatment. Cattle dung produced from 3–25 days post-treatment caused 100% mortality in newly hatched larvae of the bushfly, Musca vetustissima Walker (Diptera:Muscidae). In dung of day 35, mortality was 93.6%. Dung collected from sheep from 1–6 days after treatment also caused 100% mortality of fly larvae, but by day 28, no toxic effects were detectable. Field observations on the colonization of cattle pats confirmed the enhanced attractiveness of dung from treated animals and suggested that departure rates from treated dung were lower than those from untreated dung. Treated pats supported higher beetle populations than untreated pats and burial was more rapid. The potentially serious implications of the enhanced attractiveness of avermectincontaminated dung are discussed in relation to the survival of dung beetle communities.

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The role of dung beetles in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cattle farming

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/srep18140 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Eleanor M. Slade ◽

Terhi Riutta ◽

Tomas Roslin ◽

Hanna L. Tuomisto

Keyword(s):

Production Systems ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Dung Beetle ◽

Global Scale ◽

Dung Beetles ◽

Anthropogenic Sources ◽

Future Research ◽

Beef Production ◽

Cattle Farming ◽

New Perspective

Abstract Agriculture is one of the largest anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs), with dairy and beef production accounting for nearly two-thirds of emissions. Several recent papers suggest that dung beetles may affect fluxes of GHGs from cattle farming. Here, we put these previous findings into context. Using Finland as an example, we assessed GHG emissions at three scales: the dung pat, pasture ecosystem and whole lifecycle of milk or beef production. At the first two levels, dung beetles reduced GHG emissions by up to 7% and 12% respectively, mainly through large reductions in methane (CH4) emissions. However, at the lifecycle level, dung beetles accounted for only a 0.05–0.13% reduction of overall GHG emissions. This mismatch derives from the fact that in intensive production systems, only a limited fraction of all cow pats end up on pastures, offering limited scope for dung beetle mitigation of GHG fluxes. In contrast, we suggest that the effects of dung beetles may be accentuated in tropical countries, where more manure is left on pastures and dung beetles remove and aerate dung faster and that this is thus a key area for future research. These considerations give a new perspective on previous results and suggest that studies of biotic effects on GHG emissions from dung pats on a global scale are a priority for current research.

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