Is It Possible To Raise Dung Beetles?

Dung beetles are essential for improving the water cycle and reducing pest burdens in pastures. They create brooding burrows under dung pats, which are signs of healthy land base. However, there has been a decline in dung beetle populations worldwide, leading to concerns among entomologists and ranchers. Dung beetles can increase pasture growth and reduce pest burdens, such as horn flies and face flies, which need manure pats for breeding and incubation. Research has found a 95 decrease in horn flies due to dung beetles.

Dung beetle populations in the UK are in trouble, according to farmer and entomologist Sally-Ann Spence. These insects play a vital role in livestock systems, with dung pat management and soil health. Stockowners can increase dung beetle activity on their properties by introducing appropriate species and avoiding known practices. With a sufficient dung beetle population, a dung pad can reduce around 70 in a couple of days. If the dung beetle population is depleted, pasture fouling can be a major problem.

Dung beetles can improve soil, pasture, and livestock health, as well as reduce nutrient runoff. To increase their numbers, stockowners should adopt a mindful approach to their dung beetle investment, especially in the first few years post-release when beetle numbers are growing. Tunneling dung beetles are beneficial to soil and pasture by acting as living feritlizers.

In situations where worming is needed, farmers should research the beetle life cycle in their environment and worm their cattle when the beetles are present. A dung pat with tall ridges is ideal, and beetles are not breedable. Ideally, keeping livestock out throughout the year will support these beetles.

Can You Keep Dung Beetles?

The dung beetle species provided by SOILCAM are specifically adapted for open field environments where there's a continuous supply of fresh livestock dung, making them unsuitable as pets. These beetles operate by feeding on animal feces and can bury dung weighing up to 250 times their body mass in one night. Some beetles, known as rollers, transform dung into round balls to serve as food or breeding chambers.

Dung beetles, such as Euoniticellus intermedius, contribute significantly to ecosystem health by dispersing seeds, reducing livestock parasites, and fostering plant growth. However, they are affected by certain injectable substances, which can impair their survival for a couple of weeks.

Beyond their ecological roles, dung beetles enhance soil quality, control pests, mitigate diseases, and help reduce methane emissions. Their activity varies seasonally, with some remaining active during winter. Keeping livestock out of pastures year-round can support dung beetle populations. While only certain beetles may impact dung beetle numbers long-term, ensuring their habitat with appropriate conditions is essential.

Though some people may consider keeping dung beetles as pets, their specific habitat requirements and ecological contributions suggest it may not be ethical or practical. For enthusiasts interested in other types, such as rainbow dung beetles, care includes housing them in a suitable tank with proper substrates and feeding them, like with soaked dog biscuits. Overall, dung beetles play a crucial role in agriculture, potentially saving farmers significant costs through their natural fertilizing abilities.

How To Breed A Dung Beetle?

Inoculation of soil cores involves adding 10 beetles and 2 litres of dung, where the beetles breed inside the bags over an 8 to 12-week period before assessments are made. Indicators of beetle development include brood ball counts, larvae or pupae presence, and the number of remaining adults. Dung beetles use their olfactory receptors to locate food and typically reproduce by laying eggs within dung balls, which vary in dimensions and burial depth, providing nourishment for larvae. Dung beetle nurseries will be established with tailored management recommendations, and successful breeding may lead to the distribution of excess beetles on local farms.

To prepare a breeding setup, one needs a plastic box filled with loose soil and decayed plant material. Dung beetles can be categorized into three main types based on their nesting behaviors: tunnelers, dwellers, and rollers. Tunnelers, like Euoniticellus intermedius, are commonly found, while rollers shape dung into balls for food and breeding. The breeding environment may require specific substrates, such as potting soil or a mixture with cow dung.

Despite common misconceptions, dung beetles can breed in designated dung pads. Internal parasites, such as roundworms, can thrive in livestock dung, but dung beetles themselves do not have distinct genders and breed differently compared to other species. The breeding process necessitates ensuring optimal conditions within a controlled environment.

How Long Do Dung Beetles Live?

After 1-4 weeks, dung beetle larvae undergo metamorphosis, emerging as adults that can be influenced by various environmental factors. Some species produce two emergences annually, while others may be seasonal or active year-round. Their life cycle can vary from less than 6 months to a year, with an average lifespan of 1-2 years. Adult dung beetles vary in size, measuring from 0. 5 cm to 3 cm, and primarily feed on dung. They have robust black bodies, six legs, and long wings shielded by hard covers; males often possess prominent horns.

Overall, there are nearly 7, 000 species of dung beetles, with lifespans ranging from three months to five years depending on species, habitat, and environmental conditions. These beetles have four life stages: egg, larvae, pupae, and adult. Eggs are typically laid in dung or created brood balls. Specific types include Rollers, which form and transport dung balls, and Tunnelers, which excavate beneath dung piles. Dung beetles fulfill critical ecological roles by fertilizing and enriching soil, thus supporting diverse wildlife.

They face challenges such as habitat destruction, pesticide exposure, and climate change, yet remain vital for ecosystem health. Despite variances in lifespan (commonly 1-3 years), many can bury dung weighing up to 250 times their own body mass in a single night. Their life cycle duration ranges significantly, from as little as 6 weeks to a year based on species and climate. Dung beetles inhabit various environments, excluding Antarctica, thriving in farmland, forests, grasslands, and deserts. Their activities benefit soil quality and nutrient cycling considerably.

Are Dung Beetles Good For The Soil?

Dung beetles play a crucial and multifaceted role in pasture ecosystems. By feeding on manure, they not only provide housing and nourishment for their young but also significantly enhance nutrient cycling, soil structure, and forage growth. These beetles primarily utilize mammalian dung for feeding and nesting, facilitating the breakdown and recycling of dung into the soil. This process increases the soil’s nitrogen content, improves water retention, and supports healthy crop growth. The burrowing activities of dung beetles enhance soil permeability, reducing the risk of soil erosion, watercourse pollution, and surface runoff, which in turn can lower flood risks.

Moreover, dung beetles accelerate the decomposition of dung pats, contributing to nutrient cycling and affecting greenhouse gas fluxes. Their tunneling behavior enhances the soil’s capacity to absorb and retain water, while their dung-handling activities move nutrient-rich organic material to areas accessible to plant roots and other beneficial soil organisms. Maintaining a diverse population of dung beetle species ensures complete dung removal, promoting overall soil health and productivity.

Studies have demonstrated that dung beetles positively impact both plant growth and the physico-chemical properties of the soil. By acting as living fertilizers, they aerate the soil and transport nutrients from manure deeper into the ground, addressing issues related to soil structure, nutrient loss, and organic matter depletion. This not only improves soil and pasture health but also benefits livestock by reducing nutrient runoff.

Additionally, the presence of dung beetles serves as a key indicator of a healthy micro-habitat ecosystem, enhancing soil fauna activity and overall ecosystem resilience. In summary, dung beetles are essential for improving soil quality, supporting sustainable agriculture, and maintaining healthy pasture environments.

Do You Need Dung Beetles?

Dung beetles are crucial for nutrient cycling, as they efficiently bury manure, which reduces nitrogen loss into the atmosphere. By rolling and transporting dung underground, they incorporate nitrogen back into the soil. They feed on dung, relying on their strong sense of smell to locate it. There are three main types of dung beetles: rollers, tunnelers, and dwellers, each defined by their method of interacting with dung. While most dung beetles are solitary, some work in pairs or small groups.

Despite their beneficial role, dung beetles are harmless to humans; they neither bite nor sting. Instead, they play key ecological roles such as soil aeration and nutrient transfer, thereby preventing fly breeding. Dung beetles also aid in controlling gastrointestinal parasites in livestock and support the overall health of ecosystems. They improve soil structure and biota, enhance nutrient cycling, and mitigate pasture spoilage. Some research indicates they can reduce methane emissions from livestock dung by up to 40%.

However, dung beetles are attracted only to fresh dung, meaning they will not colonize old manure piles, and they compete with flies for resources. Maintaining a healthy dung beetle population is vital, as they help control fly populations and improve pasture health by breaking down waste and facilitating nutrient returns to the soil. Their often-overlooked role as ecosystem engineers significantly benefits both natural and human-modified environments, making them essential for sustainable land management and livestock operations.

How To Increase Dung Beetle Population?

Eliminating broad-spectrum insecticides, including pour-ons and injectable avermectins, alongside implementing rotational grazing and increasing stock densities, has proven to enhance dung beetle populations. Supplementing livestock diets with fiber, such as hay, straw, or straw pellets, when dung pats are soft, benefits both animal digestion and beetle numbers. Research by Adam Byk and Jacek Pietka highlights the dung beetle's role in reducing nuisance pests, like horn and heel flies, thus promoting livestock health. Tunneling dung beetles are particularly advantageous for soil and pasture, acting as living fertilizers through the aeration and nutrient cycling they achieve by burying dung for their young.

To boost dung beetle populations, fostering a variety of beetle species is essential, as each is most active at different times of the year. Minimizing insecticide use is critical for population growth. Rapid processing of dung by beetles reduces pasture fouling and pest flies, benefiting the overall health of grazing lands. Regular monitoring of beetle populations—more frequently assessing activity and species diversity—can help track population health, ideally once a month.

Additionally, establishing dung beetle nurseries for breeding can further strengthen numbers during active seasons. Rotational grazing with higher stock densities provides ample nourishment for beetles. Conservation of adjacent open fields and woodlands may also enrich local dung beetle populations, aligning with existing farm management practices to enhance ecosystem balance.

Are Dung Beetles In Decline?

British dung beetles are experiencing a significant decline, largely due to the toxic effects of chemicals used in livestock treatments for parasites. These chemicals pass through animals into their dung, adversely affecting native dung beetle populations. Globally, dung beetles have been declining, particularly over the past 30 years, underscoring the urgent need for restoration efforts (Lumaret et al., 2022; Nichols et al., 2007).

Key factors driving this decline include the intensification of livestock systems, the use of pesticides and anthelmintics, and the abandonment of traditional mixed grazing practices. These changes lead to habitat loss and reduced dung availability, which are critical for dung beetle survival.

Climate change further exacerbates the situation by inducing range shifts and causing genetic diversity losses in species such as Colobopterus erraticus, Cheironitis eumenes, and Gymnopleurus. To maintain viable populations, large dung beetle species require substantial habitats, with some needing at least 85 hectares. This large habitat requirement presents a significant challenge for conservation. In the UK, evidence shows that dung beetle numbers are declining, with some species becoming nationally rare or even extinct.

Over 25 UK dung beetle species are classified as 'Nationally Rare,' and four may have already become extinct. Overall, dung beetle species richness decreased by 40% between 1995 and 2021, threatening their ecological roles such as dung burial.

The decline of dung beetles mirrors a broader trend of invertebrate losses worldwide, driven by rapid human-induced environmental changes. Efforts to support dung beetle populations include promoting sustainable livestock practices and involving veterinarians in conservation strategies. Without these measures, dung beetle populations may continue to plummet, leading to further ecological imbalance.

Are Dung Beetles Harmful To Humans?

Dung beetles play a crucial role in enhancing human and livestock health by consuming both parasites and human pathogens present in fresh feces. When dung beetles feed on and bury feces, they likely eliminate harmful bacteria, contributing to disease suppression. Additionally, research suggests that dung beetles possess antibiotic-like compounds on their bodies, further aiding in the control of pathogens.

A study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology highlights the importance of maintaining dung beetle populations and soil bacteria on farms, as they naturally suppress E. coli and other dangerous pathogens, reducing the risk of these bacteria spreading to humans and animals.

However, while most dung beetles are beneficial and harmless to humans and pets, some species can pose risks. For example, blister beetles can release irritating substances or deliver bites that cause allergic reactions or skin irritations. Moreover, exposure to certain toxins, such as ivermectin-laced dung, can negatively impact dung beetles, leading to smaller body sizes and reduced fat reserves, indicating poor health.

Despite these potential threats, dung beetles are generally not considered dangerous. They do not attack people, suck blood, or act as disease vectors. Instead, they contribute significantly to ecosystem health by recycling nutrients and controlling harmful bacteria. Protecting dung beetle populations is essential for maintaining food safety and sustainable agricultural practices.