Very Interesting Junior – July 22, 2019

SMALL FIVE

PART 4

MEET THE

Little 5 series

800

The number of dung beetle

species in South Africa.

DUNG BEETLE

They make the best clean-up crew and live on every continent except chilly Antarctica.

These little eco-warriors are fascinating

Research by Katleho Selwadi

CLEAN-UP CREW

A rhino in the grasslands lifts his tail and

makes a poo... within minutes thousands of

dung beetles have used their excellent

sense of smell to hone in on the mound and

soon it is swarming with them. Dung beetles

just love poo. They eat it, some live in it, and

they lay their eggs in it. All the while they are

performing a very important ecological role.

They help to dispose of the poo, fertilise the

soil and keep pests like flies at bay. Win-win

for everyone, we guess!

READY FOR MY

CLOSE-UP!

If you ever wondered what a

dung beetle looks like

magnified, you now have the

answer... Dunno about you, but

we think he could use a shave.

Scientists have figured

out that dung beetles

can navigate at night

using the stars.

DID YOU

KNOW?

Dung beetles go into

a sleepy state in

winter called a torpor.

So who does the dirty

work while they’re not

around? Termites!

The number of dung beetle 5,000

species in the world.

5-50mm

The length of a dung beetle.