DUMP
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@Team_DUMP
The Oxford University Museum of Natural History Dung beetle UK Mapping Project has now come to an end & there will be no further activity under the DUMP banner.
Really enjoying listening about the wonders of dung beetles on @BBCRadio4's On Your Farm bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00… and Science in Action bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04… @minibeastmayhem @Ceri_Watkins - can I import some to my farm?
#BeetleIllustrationOfTheDay :Onthophagus fracticornis . Until I embarked on this project a year ago, I had no idea that we had dung beetles in the UK (pardon my ignorance) . They are both wonderful & amazing! @Team_DUMP #Dungbeetle #onthophagus #Entomology
Species spotlight: the woodland dor beetle. A type of dung beetle, they mainly feed on faeces and rotting vegetation. Both the larvae and adults will eat their own weight in food every day. That's a lot of poo! Black from above, the underside is a beautiful metallic blue.
Nice 8m walk across Ampthill & Maulden today resulting in Ablattaria laevigata & Thanatophilus rugosus for @SilphidaeUk a first for me with 2 16 spot Ladybird’s @UKLadybirds some dung beetles for @Team_DUMP and a green tiger beetle to finish off a beetle day in lockdown!
Dung beetles roll dung for 3 reasons: 1. They roll it up as ‘food balls’ to eat. 2. They use it as ‘nuptial balls’ for females, rolling it into holes where pairs mate and feast on it. 3. It’s used as ‘brooding balls’ formed into ‘cribs’ for dung beetle larvae. 📷: Ross Couper
I started cutting out these pictures when I was pregnant with my 1st kid... who's now 4! So pleased to finally finish this little project (and I've got LOTS more cut outs to start the next one!)
#BeetleIllustrationOfTheDay :Onthophagus fracticornis . Until I embarked on this project a year ago, I had no idea that we had dung beetles in the UK (pardon my ignorance) . They are both wonderful & amazing! @Team_DUMP #Dungbeetle #onthophagus #Entomology
A Minotaur beetle from Sizewell, Suffolk today showing its three bull-like horns. This is a large dung beetle found on sandy grassland and heathland, and take mostly rabbit dung back to their nests for their larvae to feed on.
An interesting Dung beetle Onthophagus similis seen yesterday first time I have encountered this genus.
