BALL ROLLING DUNG BEETLES WATCH THE SUN

Ball-rolling dung beetles use sun compass navigation o stay on track. Although they do not have to aim for a specific nesting site, they have to try to move in a straight line. The object of their ball rolling is to get their loot away as far as possible from thieves and competition in the shortest possible time, an attempt that would be futile if they were to move in circles.

Once the ball has been formed, the beetle takes a sun bearing and then doggedly sicks to it, over all obstacles in his way.

Male dung beetles that assemble large dung balls and trundle them off are not collecting booty for themselves. They are, in fact, assembling a wedding gift. Patrolling females have a connoisseur"s eye for a quality dung ball, and will attach themselves to the best specimen they can spot, while id is rolled along by the male. Males roll the dung ball as fast and as far away as possible from the dung pad, since thieving males are always on the prowl, looking to steal a prize dung ball - often with the attached female who has no particular preference for a specific male. The winner becomes owner of both the dung ball and the female and has the honor of mating with her. The couple bury the dung ball in a breeding chamber, and the female then lays her egg, fertilised by the male, in the supply of dung.

The female then seals the ball with clay. The larva completes its whole growth cycle inside the ball, and pupates there, eventually emerging as a fully grown beetle. Some small dung pad beetles lay their eggs directly in a dung pad. Their lava have only about a week to mature and pupate before their food supply dries out.
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