Dung Beetles

Many councils across Australia have introduced dung beetles that eat dog poo into parks, beaches and other open spaces. There is an ongoing debate about the effectiveness of dung beetles to remove dog poo from urban areas, such as a park. Some councils have found that they don't hang around for very long.

Dung beetles provide a range of environmental and agricultural production benefits through burial and shredding of dung which:

• reduces pasture fouling and nutrient runoff into waterways
• removes fly and parasite breeding habitat
• facilitates nutrient recycling by exposing dung to soil microbes, plant roots and earthworms
• improves water infiltration and aeration of soil by generating a network of underground tunnels.

Dung beetles belong to the scarab family of beetles. There are 4,500 species worldwide, with most found in Africa where they have evolved with a wide range of herbivores, including large species such as buffalo and elephants. There are approximately 400 native dung beetle species in Australia and some eat dog dung.

For detailed information about the biology and life cycles of dung beetles visit the:

• Queensland Department of Industries and Fisheries website
• Beetle Mania section at the Australian Museum Online

The CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation) website lists some suppliers, but their focus for dung beetles is as biological control agents to combat the Australian bush fly where they remove dung from pasture, acting as rubbish collectors in the Australian bush. Dung beetles can reduce the environmental impact of introduced livestock, recycle nutrients into the soil and reduce breeding sites for flies. 

Warringah Council introduced dung beetles on 31st October 1995

Dung beetles help stop faeces from being washed into the stormwater system because they return nutrients to the soil. It is hoped that Warringah's waterways will be cleaner and safer for residents and visitors thanks to the dung beetles.

The three species of beetle were chosen because they favour dog faeces as their food source. The beetles build a tunnel system below the ground and carry small pieces of dung into the tunnels. They also lay their eggs in these tunnels. The beetles are not attracted to light, will not eat anything else and because they carry out their work below ground, are rarely ever seen.

Dung beetles bury dog faeces faster than it takes flies to breed. To assist horse owners in Warringah, the council introduced dung beetles on 8th December 1999 into popular horse breeding areas.

For more information, visit the Warringah Council website.

Lake Macquarie City Council's Dung Beetle Release Evaluation

Overview

Dung beetles were introduced into Australia to assist the breakdown of cattle dung accumulated in pastures, because native dung species were unable to do so. CSIRO Entomology, who selected the most appropriate species according to the climatic conditions, carried out introduction of exotic dung beetle species into areas of suitable climatic conditions. In eastern Australia, the species Onthophagus taurus has the ability to survive the temperate climate and utilise a wide range of food sources that includes cattle dung and potentially domesticated dog faeces. Therefore local government agencies have utilised this species of dung beetle as a tool to remove dog feaces from public areas such as parklands.

Results

The overall results of this study, combining both survey methods, showed that no individuals of O. taurus were recorded at any of the previous release sites. Native dung beetles were found to be present at all but three sites. Onthophagus dandalu was the most abundant of the native dung beetle species found. See the full case study.