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Beetle (African Dung)

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Neateuchus proboscideus
Beetle (African Dung)

Range

There are several different kinds (species) of dung beetle in Africa and thousands of different kinds all over the world, wherever there is dung.

Habitat

The African Dung Beetle (Neateuchus proboscideus) lives on the grassland (savannah).

Body Traits

They are large, black beetles, about an inch long. Adult dung beetles have mouth parts which are made to feed on plant and animal matter that has rotted down to a liquid. They can also break down dry dung.

Habits

Dung beetles roll dung into a ball. They can be seen rolling them across open areas. They bury the balls or pack them into burrows. Breaking down dung helps the environment by stopping flies from breeding in the dung and releases the dung's nutrients into the soil, like fertilizer.

Diet

They eat the dung but will also eat mushrooms and rotting plant matter.

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Reproduction

A female beetle lays eggs in a dung ball that she and a male beetle have rolled down into a burrow that they have dug. The eggs hatch and the young feed on the dung around them.

Beetle (African Dung)

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class:     Insecta
Order:     Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Family: Scarabaeidae
Genus:     Neateuchus
Species: N. proboscideus

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