I spent Sunday at a Invertabrate show, returning with a few new tarantulas & a small collection of tropical dung beetles. But did you know that there are 60 species of Dung Beetle in the UK?
The Uk’s dung beetles do not roll balls of dung around like those from hotter counties, the UK’s beetles are underground dwellers & are encouraged onto fields by farmers, as they are an important part of the eco system for anyone with animals out on fields.
Some species are specialised and require specific conditions. For example, Volinus sticticus prefers horse or sheep dung in the shade and Onthophagus joannae is a sun loving beetle that favours sheep dung on light soils. Others are less fussy and have few specific requirements.
Yes, UK dung beetles will be found in both cow & horse dung & below it in the ground.
Doing some reading, there are two types of dung beetle in the UK. Burrowers & dwellers. Those that burrow in the soil below the dung & those that dwell in the dung.
When I get home, I will be putting my wellies on to find the nearest field where cows are housed, I will be sifting through that dung, if I find any, I will post some pics, I’m trying to think where the fields are with the cows in…
Ah, we have a horse stables near, I will go there and ask if I can have a look through their dung as I’m studying dung beetles,
When my horses and donkies in SA dropped a packet l found that within
about 15 mins their dung was swarming with small beetles,as if the beetles
were already in the dung when it was dropped ?
We also had the conventional dung beetle which was much larger and used
to roll the dung away by walking backwards whilst pushing the dung along !!
Donkeyman!
You will have lots of fun doing that, Pauline. Maybe if you go to the stables they’ll need samples of horse dung too, you could collect it for them while you are searching.
