Homage To The Dung Beetle

The mighty and righteous dung beetle deserves special respect and attention. It has a crucial role in the cycle of life, restoring fertility to the Serengetti Plain. The wildebeest and other herbivores eat the grasses and produce dung. In order for the grasses to grow again the land has to be fertilized. True, the dung beetle is doing what it does for selfish purposes, namely, for laying its eggs in the buried ball of dung so that it will provide food for the next generation, "mother's dung" so to speak. But the overall result is to maintain the harmonious cycle of growth in the environment.
That is why, even though I mockingly compare the human accumulation of shit to the work of the dung beetle, the beetle's activity is far nobler. Little of the human accumulation leads to harmonious benefits for the whole society. Quite the contrary, it is leading to the deterioration and eventual destruction of the society and the environment.
I gave some close study to the dung beetle's work while our driver and tracker were changing a flat tire. (Even the amazingly durable tires on these vehicles succumb to the rigors of the "roads," in our case a very small, sharp stone, shaped like an arrowhead. That's why the vehicle all carry two spare tires). [By the way that particular change was a close call because one of the spare tires didn't fit and the second took a lot of work to get on.]
In any event, I learned a great deal during that tire-changing time. The beetle flies in and surveys a fresh deposit of dung. To my surprise, but with a functional purpose, it burrows in and cuts a flat, horizontal cut through the pile.
Then it goes to the top, chooses a central point and begins creating a ball by digging down. It frequently goes slightly beyond its dig to pull in more material. Eventually it sits on top of a hemisphere. Then it excavates inward to create the bottom of the sphere. The intelligence of first cutting below becomes clear as the ball now becomes easy to detach and roll away. All the while, the beetle is adding material to perfect the spherical shape.
Eventually it rolls the ball away. The rolling compacts the ball about 20%. At a chosen spot it digs around the base of the ball until it sinks completely below the surface of the earth. After that I presume it lays its eggs.

In the spirit of John Donne I say
"Send not to ask
For whom the ball rolls.
It rolls for thee."

All Hail the Dung Beetle!

Incidentally, the use of dung by various animals could fill a book. This includes the birds which search elephant dung for all sorts of seeds and goodies left in there due to the elephants crude digestive process. Also, humans burn elephant dung as a repellent to the virtually undefeatable Tse Tse fly.

The final product is a perfect sphere of dung which the beetle will bury in the ground so that the female may deposit her eggs therein. Pushing is done in a headstand position with the back legs and Herculean strength is demonstrated in overcoming obstacles.

We saw hundreds of beetles congregating on the abundant piles of dung.

The first step is for the beetle to enter the bottom and make a horizontal cut. This was difficult to photograph but I think you can see him entering on the left side. This little-known first step makes it easier to move the completed ball when he finishes. In this series I believe the beetle is working with wildebeest dung.

After the undercut he centers himself on the top and begins making the upper half of the sphere.

He continually adds material to make the ball as round as possible

Finally he reaches the undercut and can start rolling the ball away.