Dung beetle
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Dung beetle
Invertebrate
A fascinating insect that feeds entirely on animal droppings, playing a vital role in cleaning up pastures.
💡 Fun Facts
- It digs deep tunnels in the soil right beneath a pile of dung and drags the dung down to feed its grubs.
- By burying dung underground it recycles the nutrients, clears the pasture and helps fresh grass grow — one of nature's clean-up crew.
- It is a kind of 'dor beetle', and on a warm evening you might hear one drone heavily past on clattering wings.
Name Story
Geotrupes stercorarius
means “The earth-borer of the dung”
What does its name mean?
- Geotrupes — earth-borerGreek ge 'earth' + trype 'a borer, a hole'
- stercorarius — of the dungLatin stercus 'dung'
This beetle does exactly what its name says: it bores down into the earth beneath a pile of droppings and buries the dung as food for its grubs — an honest, hard-working name for a hard-working beetle.