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Sri Lankan Dung Beetle

Scarabaeoidea

Description:

Black Beetle, It has a scooper like head and paddle-shaped antennae. They vary from 0.2 to more than 1 in. (5–30 mm) long.

Habitat:

Yala National Park, Sri Lanka. Yala combines a strict nature reserve with a national park. Divided into 5 blocks, the park has a protected area of nearly 130,000 hectares of land consisting of light forests, scrubs, grasslands, tanks and lagoons. One block is currently opened to the public. Situated in Sri Lanka’s south-east hugging the panoramic Indian Ocean, Yala was designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1900 and was designated a national park in 1938. Ironically, the park was initially used as a hunting ground for the elite under British rule. Yala is home to 44 varieties of mammal and 215 bird species.

Notes:

I was soooo excited about these litlle Dung Beetles. I remember watching David Attenborough maybe 25 years ago with a bit about the Dung Beetle.How amazing! And now I see them for real. Here was a dung ball being pushed ahead with two Dung Beetles on it. One was doing ALL the work and the other one was just sitting there and was under and on top of the ball. When I investigated on line I found this " The “rollers” roll and bury a dung ball either for food storage or for making a brooding ball. In the latter case, two beetles, one male and one female, will be seen around the dung ball during the rolling process. Usually it is the male that rolls the ball, with the female hitch-hiking or simply following behind. In some cases the male and the female roll together. When a spot with soft soil is found, they stop and bury the dung ball. They will then mate underground. After the mating, both or one of them will prepare the brooding ball. When the ball is finished, the female lays eggs inside it, a form of mass provisioning. Some species do not leave after this stage, but remain to safeguard their offspring. The dung beetle goes through a complete metamorphosis. The larvae live in brood balls made with dung prepared by their parents. During the larval stage, the beetle feeds on the dung surrounding it." AMAZING!!!!

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Dung Beetle
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5 Comments

Muckpuk
Muckpuk 9 years ago

Yes Ava-T-B. I read that too! AMAZING!

Ava T-B
Ava T-B 9 years ago

Great information and pictures Muckpuk! Did you know that dung beetles navigate at night using the Milky Way!?!?! How great is that?! http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/201...

Muckpuk
Muckpuk 9 years ago

Thank you Mark and Leuba! Mark haha this ball was rolling ahead of us like it had a little engine in it. So quick for such a big sized ball of poop. 😀
Leuba, thank you for appreciating them too.

Leuba Ridgway
Leuba Ridgway 9 years ago

I love them too and used to watch them as a kid, struggling with these balls. They are cute ! Lovely spotting Muckpuk - glad you got to see them.

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 9 years ago

Great find and excellent series. I'm amazed at the relative size of that ball. A bit like the one in Indiana Jones those little guys could get killed :)

Muckpuk
Spotted by
Muckpuk

Southern Province, Sri Lanka

Spotted on Dec 31, 2014
Submitted on Jan 13, 2015

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