In a 1929 first edition of Jock of the
Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, there was an
error on an illustration where they depicted a dung
beetle rolling a ball using its front legs. It may have
been incorrect, but it has made for a rare collector’s
edition that is now worth a fortune.The dung beetle is the
fourth in our ‘Small Five’
series. In issue #10 we found
out more about the leopard
tortoise. If you’d like a back
copy, email vijunior@
panorama.co.za. Next issue,
we meet the African
pygmy kingflsher!Little 5 series
YOU’RE MY TYPE...
There are three main types of dung beetle.
Rollers make balls of poo and roll them
away from the mound, burying them and
laying their eggs in them. Tunnellers or
burrowers dig tunnels beneath the mound,
simply fetching more dung when and as
they need it. The third type, dwellers, simply
dive in and live in the mound. There is also
a fourth type, who is rather cheeky...
stealers do exactly what their name implies
and wait for the rollers to let down their
guard before stealing the ball from them.
How were they raised!?
‘Stop,
thief!’
These... erm... adorable little
babies are called grubs or
larvae. Their parents laid their
eggs in balls of poo (called a
brood ball) and they hatch
out, eat the ball and join their
parents in the big, wide world.DID YOU KNOW?
Dung beetles come in many shapes,
sizes and colours – from blues to
greens, browns and black.F U N FACTS:
- Dung beetles don’t need to drink water – they get liquid through the dung
they consume. - A dung beetle is a coprophages – the technical term for a faeces eater.
- They are sticklers for geometry... they roll their balls in a straight line, over
obstacles rather than around them. - The males of some species have horns and they fight for female attention.
- Why poo? It’s filled with undigested food, which contains nutrients that
the beetle needs.
1,141x
The dung beetle is the
world’s strongest insect,
being able to push this
amount more than theirbody weight.Most dung
beetles are
actually quite picky- they prefer a
certain animal’s
dung and will
sometimes refuse
other types.
3
The number of years
dung beetles live in
the wild.