Dung Beetles Protect Their Dung Balls By Following the Milky Way
provided by EOL authors
They may spend their lives rolling around on balls of poop, but dung beetles have their eyes on the stars. A new study shows that these simple bugs actually depend on the Milky Way to find their way around...
Marie Dacke, Emily Baird, Marcus Byrne, Clarke H. Scholtz, Eric J. Warrant Dung Beetles Use the Milky Way for Orientation Current Biology, Available online 24 January 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.12.034
A large (25-28 mm) distinctive scarab found in eastern North America, where it is the only representative of its genus. Major males have a single prominent horn. Adults feed on ash (Fraxinus) foliage, and larvae feed on the roots of ash and/or decaying organic matter. Adults fly to lights, which is where they are encountered most often.
