Dung Beetles - Amateur Astronomers?

(Rafael Brix)

Researchers at Johannesburg’s Wits University have conducted tests indicating that a species of South African dung beetle (Scarabaeus zambesianus) use stars from the Milky Way to navigate. The beetles, which roll dung balls from larger piles to escape from competing beetles, amazingly are able to roll in nearly perfect straight lines.  Scientists predict this action is simply to retreat in the most efficient manner possible. Although scientists have known for years that the insects use the sun and moon to navigate, it remained a mystery as to how they were able to be remarkably consistent on moonless nights until now. 

To test their theory, researches placed beetles into the university’s planetarium to see how they would act with a normal night sky (with stars and no moon), and then in one without the Milky Way.  With the Milky Way off, the dung beetles were disoriented and lost.

"The dung beetles don't care which direction they're going in. They just need to get away from the bun fight at the poo pile," Marcus Byrne, a professor at Wits said. "But when we turned off the Milky Way, the beetles got lost."

Dung beetles feed on dung, mushrooms, and decaying leaves.  They search for food mainly by smell and often compete with each other for resources.  They are found on all continents except Antarctica.