Dung Beetle Day

As promised, today is Dung Beetle Day and I found my inspiration on my favorite lol cats site (see Silly Shenanigans post).

Dung beetles, as the name implies, help contain the world's poo.  They eat it, they lay their eggs in it (so the developing larvae has food), and sometimes even fight over it.  But without them, the world would be a much more disgusting place.  There are more than 5,000 species of dung beetles.  Some pack the poo into a nice neat ball and roll it until they find a soft spot to bury it, some just bury it where they find it. and some just live in it where they find it, no additional work needed.  The 'rollers' can move a ball up to 50 times their weight. Wikipedia says they use their sensitive sense of smell to find it, but I wouldn't think you'd need a sensitive sense of smell to find poo!  

Dung beetles play a very important role in the ecosystem.  By burying balls of poo, they help enrich the soil and reduce the number of flies that would otherwise gather.  They are the original nutrient recyclers of the world.  So next time you think YOUR job sucks, just take a moment to give thanks for dung beetles!