Dung Beetles in the news

[blondebear]

BBC article: Dung beetles guided by Milky Way

The study by Marie Dacke is reported in the journal Current Biology.

“The dung beetles are not necessarily rolling with the Milky Way or 90 degrees to it; they can go at any angle to this band of light in the sky. They use it as a reference,” the Lund University, Sweden, researcher told BBC News.

She is investigating the strange dance the creature does on top of its ball of muck. The hypothesis is that this behaviour marks the moment the beetle takes its bearings.

Dancing on top of a ball of muck by the light of the Milky Way–sounds like fun!