Each day they scatter, bury and dry out the dung of other animals while patiently toiling away at their dung balls. They have an indispensable role to play in preserving the ecology of a region. A few years ago, Australian authorities launched a massive programme whereby they imported hundreds and thousands of dung-beetle eggs from South Africa and other countries. Thanks to our dung beetles' healthy appetite for herbivore dung, the fly problem in Australia fortunately seems to have been brought under control in most areas, even those that had been most infected. The only snag, though, is that this leaves us with one less excuse to poke fun at our mates Down Under.
Some species are active during the daytime, while others bustle during the night.
The largest dung beetles are about as big as a golf ball, with the smallest ones about the size of a fly. Seeing dung beetles in action can prove to be quite a unique experience to an unsuspecting observer. Burger testifies to having once counted more than 700 dung beetles descending on a single pat of rhino dung that had been produced overnight. They enter the dung heap and start milling around inside, causing it to appear like some kind of writhing, oozing alien creature. Then they eventually emerge in pairs with their dung balls.