The (not so) secret life of dung beetles

In the Reserve our guides make a big effort not to drive over elephant and rhino dung but rather go around it, especially during the ‘green’ season. The reason is that in this season the dung beetles come out to do their important work in the bush. We make sure to make a little detour (and often a stop) for them whenever we encounter them on our roads, rolling their balls and tagging along one or sometimes more passengers on the go. These little beetles are some of the most fascinating insects out here in the bush. For the whole winter, they have been in a state of ‘hibernation’, waiting for the heat of summer and the first rains to arrive. After some good rains the bush starts buzzing with the wing beats of these flying decomposers. Read more (link in bio)… Two beetles, a male and a female create the ball, with the male pushing it away from the dung pile with its back legs, as quickly as possible. The female hangs on for dear life. We are always amazed by the strength and tenacity of these little beetles, as they roll their ball of dung in a straight line across all sorts and sizes of obstacles, sometimes pushing more than 50 times their body weight up a steep embankment. The male will collect and roll the dung, forming a movable ball that will be pushed with the back feet as the front legs are armed with serrations to grip the ground for stability. When the ball is of a suitable size, the male releases a pheromone, attracting a female. She will cling to the ball as the male continues to roll in search of soft soil. When appropriate soil is located, the pair use their shovel shaped heads to dig away beneath the ball, slowly burying it. As you can see in the video, there are sometimes multiple contenders, trying to kick each other off. The female lays her eggs in the dung ball (referred to at this stage as the ‘brood ball’) and the larvae are left to develop using the dung as sustenance during the metamorphic process. Dung beetles completely rely on dung for food for both them and their larvae and will lay their eggs in the balls. They will roll the ball away until they find a suitable place to dig a hole and submerge it. Time and time again they will then go back to the original pile to roll another and roll it back to the same hole placing it on top of the first ball. They may place three balls on top of each other like a sleeve of tennis balls before closing the top of the hole, leaving the larvae to hatch, feed and change into their adult form. Dung beetles are vitally important to the environment as they clean up most of the dung during the summer season. When they disappear for their winter sleep, termites take over the job of cleaning. If you would like to be a part of our conservation efforts, do call on us. For discreet information on share sales, contact generalmanager@limpopo-lipadi.org. To book a safari, request our rates via reservations@limpopo-lipadi.org or via WhatsApp: (+267) 76770191.