Kofi's Note Cards: Dung Beetles
1Dung beetles are insects that use animal droppings, or dung, for food and for raising their young. They live on every continent except Antarctica, in places such as grasslands, forests, and deserts.
2Some dung beetles are rollers. A roller shapes a piece of dung into a ball and rolls it away from the pile. It stands on its front legs and pushes the ball backward with its back legs.
3Other dung beetles are tunnelers. A tunneler digs a tunnel right under a dung pile. Then it pulls pieces of dung down into the tunnel, where it can eat in safety.
4A third kind, the dwellers, do not roll or dig. They simply live and lay their eggs inside the dung pile itself.
5My cousin found a shiny green beetle in her backyard last summer. She kept it in a jar for a day and named it Rocket.
6A rolling beetle often climbs on top of its ball and turns in a slow circle. Scientists think it is checking the sky before it sets off, a little like a hiker checking a map.
7Rollers move their balls in a straight line, away from other beetles that might try to steal them. To keep the line straight, many rollers use the sun or the moon as a guide.
8Scientists found that one kind of dung beetle can even use the glow of the Milky Way to steer on dark, moonless nights.
9When dung beetles bury dung, they carry its nutrients into the soil. Plants use these nutrients to grow.
10The beetles' tunnels let air and rainwater soak deeper into the ground.
11Many flies lay their eggs in fresh dung. When beetles break up and bury the dung quickly, fewer flies can hatch there.
12Some farmers are glad to see dung beetles in their fields, because the beetles help keep the pastures clean for cows and sheep.