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	Dung Beetle - a garden friend
		Dung beetles are important because they get rid of a lot of dung, breaking it down and incorporating it into the soil, so helping in the recycling of nutrients.
		Dung is mostly composed of half digested grass and a smelly liquid portion, and this is what the adults feed on, some of them have specialised mouth parts designed to let them suck out this nutritious soup, it is full of micro-organisms which the beetles can digest.
		Dung beetles are often referred to as 'Scarabs' hence the classification Scaraboidea, and in ancient Egypt the scarab or dung beetle was their most important religious symbol.
	www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk /dungbtle.htm (378 words)

	Dung Beetles
		Dung burial and dispersal reduces pasture fouling and nutrient runoff into waterways, removes fly and parasite breeding habitat facilitates nutrient recycling by exposing dung to soil microbes, plant roots and earthworms improves water infiltration and aeration of soil by generating a network of underground tunnels.
		Adult dung beetles feed on the fluid part of the dung which they extract by squeezing the dung in their mouthparts.
		Dung beetle larvae feed on the whole dung (fluid and fibre) which they cut and chew with their mouthparts.
	www.dungbeetles.com.au /?id=10&sitemenu=10 (482 words)

	Serengeti - Dung Beetle (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		Standing on its head and rolling a ball behind it, the dung beetle is working hard for its children and the ecology of Serengeti.
		Beetles are the most diverse and successful group of animals on the planet, with over 400,000 known species.
		Dung beetles are one of the most important animals in the Serengeti, because of their particular love of dung.
	www.serengeti.org /flying_beetle.html (384 words)

	Beetle, Insects, Beetle, insect, Pictures, Catalog, Encyclopedia (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		Beetles are one of the most common INSECTS and exist in every variety of habitat except the oceans and polar regions.
		Other beetles common to this family are the June or May beetle (or JUNE BUG), the chafers, the rhinoceros beetle, the elephant beetle, and the Hercules beetle.
		Beetles differ from other insects in that the front wings, or elytra singular, elytron, lack veins and nearly always meet in a straight line down the middle of the back.
	www.4to40.com /earth/geography/htm/insectsindex.asp?counter=4 (768 words)

	Scarabs - Crystalinks
		The scarab was based on the image of the dung beetle, or Scarabeus Sacer, and it was used by the ancient Egyptians for many purposes such as recording historical events or inscribing prayers to be placed on mummies for protection against evil.
		Dung beetles belong to the family Scarabaeidae and are also known as scarabs.
		Scarab beetle amulets portrayed the beetle's persistence in rolling a dung ball and the reemergence of the beetle from its hole in the ground.
	www.crystalinks.com /scarabs.html (1901 words)

	BBC - Science & Nature - Wildfacts - Dung beetle
		Typical dung beetle appearance is a beetle with a grooved shield and large strong front limbs for digging and fighting, and elongated back legs for holding a dung ball while rolling.
		There are three main types of dung beetles: the rollers, the tunnellers and the dwellers that live in the dung.
		Dung beetles are usually solitary apart from the short time they spend with their partners prior to mating.
	www.bbc.co.uk /nature/wildfacts/factfiles/498.shtml (440 words)

	Dung Beetle - Search Results - MSN Encarta
		Dung Beetle, common name for a southern African beetle that collects the dung of large herbivores.
		Beetles vary widely in their habits and are found under the most diverse conditions.
		- beetle that rolls balls of dung: a scarab beetle that rolls large balls of dung into tunnels to feed the larvae that hatch from the eggs it lays there.
	uk.encarta.msn.com /Dung_Beetle.html (143 words)

	Dung Beetle - Part 2
		The scarab beetle, the mystical religious symbol of the ancient Egyptians, is a dung beetle.
		The first imported dung beetles were released in April, 1967 - mainly in the northern parts of Australia, that were badly affected by the buffalo fly.
		But if the dung beetles eat the dung pads, there are fewer nurseries for the flies to lay their eggs in.
	www.abc.net.au /science/k2/trek/4wd/dung2.htm (998 words)

	Dung beetle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Dung beetles eat dung excreted by herbivores and omnivores, and prefer that produced by the former.
		The astronomical ceiling in the tomb of Ramses VI portrays the nightly "death" and "rebirth" of the sun as being swallowed by Nut, goddess of the sky, and re-emerging from her womb as Khepri.
		In Aesop's fable "The Dung Beetle and the Eagle", the eagle kills a hare despite the beetle's appeals.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Dung_beetle (1855 words)

	Dung beetles and their effects on soil
		On pasture and rangeland grazed by livestock, the dung beetle is a soil organism that is visible to humans, beneficial to soil health and easily monitored.
		Dung beetles were one of the surprise "tools" that appeared when Walt stopped using insecticides in 1975.
		Dung beetles sequester and bury manure to use as both incubator and food source for their young.
	managingwholes.com /dung-beetles.htm (926 words)

	Gordon's Dung Beetle Page
		Dung beetles are a relatively modern group of beetles and their fossils only extend back to 40 million years ago, which means as far as we know they were not around when the dinosaurs were around, though many other beetles were.
		Dung beetles are never excessively common in Britain, and as most of them are small and nocturnal, few but the larger Dor Beetles (Geotrupes spp.) and the Minotaur Beetle (Typhaeus typhoeus) get noticed by anybody not playing around in a cow pad.
		Dung beetles have amazing variety of life cycles and the females of many of the larger 'Rollers' stay inside their burrows and care for and protect their eggs and young, these species can live for up to 3 years.
	www.earthlife.net /insects/dung.html (1873 words)

	USATODAY.com - Evolution of Dung beetle's horn explained (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		Similarly, beetles with horns at the base of the head had smaller eyes, and beetles with horns on the thorax had proportionately smaller wings.
		Beetles species that dwell in dark tunnels rely on vision and often have horns situated away from the eyes.
		Godfray emphasizes that "the novel insight is the trade-off between the development of sexually selected and non-sexually selected organs." The dung beetle study, he says, adds interesting dialogue to the emerging field of "evo-devo," short for evolutionary development.
	www.usatoday.com /news/science/aaas/2001-02-23-beetle.htm (592 words)

	Dung Beetles
		Another dung pat was positioned beside the caged beetles to test the native population of dung beetles in burying the dung.
		Dung is a food source for soil microflora (fungi, bacteria, and actinomycetes), protozoa, and earthworms.
		Dung beetles are nature's way of recycling carbon and minerals back into the soil to be further broken down into humus for plants.
	www.noble.org /Ag/Forage/DungBeetles/PrintLayout_1_86173_86173.html (503 words)

	The Why Files \| Bizarre Beetle Horns!
		Dung beetles -- of which there are thousands of species worldwide-feast on the dung of practically every animal under the sun, from tree-swinging howler monkeys to packrats living in underground burrows.
		Some dung beetles have one horn, while others have five; some have short horns at the front of their head while others have long horns at the back; some beetle horns even branch out like the antlers of an elk.
		Dung beetles, he found, must negotiate an evolutionary 'trade-off' with nearby body parts in return for growing large horns.
	whyfiles.org /shorties/188dungbeetle (1003 words)

	Dung beetles
		Dung beetles have six legs that are specialised for shovelling dung and earth.
		Some dung beetle larvae are able to survive unfavourable conditions, such as droughts, by stopping development and remaining inactive for several months.
		Dung beetles have a well-defined biology, the species are all named and have keys for their identification, and there are not too many of them - at most there are only 200 kinds of dung beetle in the whole of New South Wales compared to 800 kinds of ants).
	www.amonline.net.au /factsheets/dung-beetles.htm (976 words)

	dung beetle
		"Dung" is a more scientific way of saying "poop." Dung Beetles are usually found just about anywhere there is animal poop, since this is their main food.
		Dung Beetles are active from Spring to Fall.
		Dung Beetles eat the dung of many different animals, but seem to mostly use the poop of large mammals.
	www.fcps.k12.va.us /StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/dung_beetle.htm (499 words)

	Dung Beetle - Part 1
		Thanks to dung beetles, the enormous numbers of cattle dung pats (also called cattle droppings, or cattle poo) in Australia are steadily being reduced.
		The dung beetles would break down the cow dung, and use it to lay their eggs in.
		Dung, along with everything else that lives in it, is the major food of the dung beetle.
	www.abc.net.au /science/k2/trek/4wd/dung1.htm (936 words)

	Dung Beetle Benefits in the Pasture Ecosystem (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		Dung beetles feed on manure, use it to provide housing and food for their young, and improve nutrient cycling, soil structure, and forage growth in the meantime.
		Dung beetles are important enough in manure and nutrient recycling that they well deserve the pasture manager’s attention.
		As the adult dung beetles use the liquid component for nourishment and the roughage for the brood balls, the dung pat quickly disappears.
	www.attra.org /attra-pub/dungbeetle.html (3245 words)

	Wildlife of Sydney - Fact File - Flat African Dung Beetle
		Dung beetles are a diverse group of beetles.
		In most cases, the dung is broken up and buried in nests in the soil for their larvae.
		The Flat African Dung Beetle was accidentally introduced to Australia, probably with farm stock.
	www.faunanet.gov.au /wos/factfile.cfm?Fact_ID=157 (129 words)

	Animal Planet :: News :: Dung Beetles in Trouble?
		Scientists studied dung beetle populations at The Maputaland Center of Endemism in southern Mozambique and South Africa.
		In areas settled by humans, dung beetle species diversity dropped, since the only dung available was from people, their cattle and a handful of other animals.
		She added that dung beetles play a very important role in ecosystems by breaking down and removing dung, contributing to nutrient recycling, aerating soil and burying seeds embedded in the dung that are then able to germinate.
	animal.discovery.com /news/briefs/20060501/dungbeetle.html?source=rss (618 words)

	Male-Dimorphism in the Dung Beetle: Reproduction Tactics and Paternal Effects on Offspring
		Abstract: Male dung beetles (Onthophagus) have a secondary sexual trait that is, a dimorphism of horns (Hunt and Simmons, 1998).
		These adult dung beetles can be separated into two distinct classes: Large, "major" males have head horns, while "minor" males have rudimentary horns or are hornless.
		Beetle horns have been shown to operate as a tool in intrasexual combat, and the existence of a "hornless" class suggests that these smaller males may engage in an alternate, less aggressive behavior.
	www.colostate.edu /Depts/Entomology/courses/en507/papers_2001/child.htm (2277 words)

	The Eye of the Dung Beetle (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		It's been known for some time that the eyes of some insects are sensitive to polarized sunlight, but what is remarkable about the dung beetle is that moonlight is one millionth the strength of sunlight and requires a good deal more of a pair of eyes.
		There are many dung beetles competing for a limited amount of food at a dung pile, so when an individual is finished rolling a ball of dung it is in its best interest to make a quick escape.
		To be sure the beetles were indeed using the moon's polarization and not the moon itself the researchers used a filter that changed the pattern of the polarized moonlight by 90 degrees.
	amos.indiana.edu /library/scripts/dungeye.html (259 words)

	Dung beetle (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		on surface of plowed field in Davie Co., NC The dung beetles include several subfamilies of the large family Scarabaeidae, the scarab beetles.
		There are thousands of species of dung beetles, occurring worldwide wherever dung is found.
		Although the biologies of many species are poorly known, as a group dung beetles have received a lot of study.
	www.ces.ncsu.edu /depts/ent/clinic/Bugofwk/970081/dungbeet.htm (314 words)

	Big 12 African Insects - Giant Dung Beetle (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		Dung beetles can play an important role in breaking up dung so that it may be recycled.
		Many African dung beetles have been exported to Australia where they were needed to break up dung pads in which flies were breeding.
		It is primarily associated with the coarse-fibred dung of large non-ruminant, herbivorous mammals.
	www.nfi.org.za /inverts/BIG12/dungbeetle.html (274 words)

	Dung Beetle
		When dung beetles are active however, it is estimated that the beetles bury 90% of faecal nitrogen in the soil.
		Therefore the use of veterinary chemicals such as tick remedies, which have an adverse effect on the dung beetles, is strictly controlled for the preservation of the beetles.
		The warm dung is rolled into balls and used by the female beetle as a medium into which she lays her eggs.
	www.naturalmeat.co.za /beetle_1.htm (535 words)

	Innovation (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		In contrast to elaborate sexually selected ornaments like the peacock's tail, dung beetle horns are not merely displayed for the aesthetic benefit of females, but used in violent skirmishes as males attempt to gain sole access to a female by guarding the entrance of her tunnel.
		Dung beetles are built like miniature bulldozers, with compact, ovoid bodies covered in smooth hard armor.
		Emlen hypothesizes that different species of beetles may minimize the functional costs of horn production by evolving a tradeoff between horn size and the development of the structure that is least crucial in their particular environment.
	www.princeton.edu /~innov/may2004/m2004beetle.htm (1870 words)

	Insecta Inspecta World - Scarab Beetles
		With geometric artistry, the dung beetles use their legs and mouth parts to fashion freshly laid dung into huge circular or pear-shaped structures and then roll them into an underground nest that has been prepared by both the male and the female.
		It is amazing that the dung beetles have the ability to roll balls of dung that weight up to fifty times their own weight.
		A dung beetle called 'Aksak' was supposed to have made the first woman and man on earth from clay.
	www.insecta-inspecta.com /beetles/scarab/index.html (797 words)

	Dung breath (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		There are over 800 species of dung beetles in South Africa and their biology and distribution is fairly well known.
		In the most extreme adaptations the wing covers are fused shut and the beetle loses the use of its wings, sacrificing mobility for reduced water loss.
		Beetle breathing is one of many little "big" questions that human curiosity seeks to answer.
	sunsite.wits.ac.za /ape/dung.htm (979 words)

	Bangkok Post Breaking News
		Dung beetles are best eaten as pupae, their inactive state when they have stopped being larvae munching on the inside of their dung balls, or as adults, after they have been purged in water for a few hours.
		Unfortunately, this excellent source of protein (100 grams of dung beetle has 17.2 grams of protein) and extra income for Thai farmers is swiftly disappearing, according to Leela Kayikananta, a senior scientist and expert on "commercial insects" at Thailand's Forestry Department.
		To reverse the trend, or at least stop farmers from hunting the giant dung beetle to extinction in the wild, Leela has studied the insect's breeding and reproduction cycle and written an instruction manual on how to successfully raise dung beetles in captivity as a sideline for farmers or rural entrepreneurs.
	www.bangkokpost.com /breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=108164 (727 words)

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