I doubt anyone in Florida works as hard as the dung beetle. They come in
a variety of colors, from dull and glossy black to metallic green like
this one in our video. Even though dung beetles are small they are hard
workers and are capable of moving dung (manure) much larger than they
are. In fact one dung beetle can bury dung that is 250 times heavier
than itself in one night.
Ancient Egyptians thought very highly of the dung beetle, also known as
the scarab and believed the dung beetle kept the Earth revolving like a
giant ball of dung, linking the insect to Khepri, the Egyptian god of
the rising sun.
Dung beetles are one of the few groups of insects that exhibit parental
care for their young. In most cases, the mother constructs the nest and
provisions it with food for her young, but in certain species, both
parents share child care duties to some degree.
Floridian
Nature Videos (2)