A dung beetle is split into three sections: head, prothorax, and abdomen. Their main body is composed of a hard cuticle.

They come in a variety of colors usually ranging from brown to black assortments.

Dung beetles are not only the world’s strongest insect, but they are also the world’s strongest animal! Relative to their size, dung beetles can push or pull a dung ball 1,141 times its own weight. When not pushing balls, the dung beetles use their strength to fend off other males.

There are many species of dung beetles, which are found on every continent except Antarctica, living in habitats ranging from humid forests to dry deserts.

Dung beetles won’t eat just any poop as they prefer waste from herbivores or omnivores. Competition is high between the dung beetles, so they are hypersensitive to fresh food being dropped. Contrary to their name, dung beetles don’t actually eat raw dung. Instead, they sift through it and eat undigested nutrients.

If you see two dung beetles rolling a ball together, usually that is a male and female preparing a brooding ball to lay eggs. When they find soft soil, they bury the ball and mate underground. Afterwards, the female dung beetle lays her eggs in specific areas of the dung ball ensuring that the larvae have food when they hatch.

There are three categories of dung beetles: rollers, tunnelers, and dwellers. Rollers roll dung into balls to live in and eat, tunnelers bury the dung, and dwellers simply live in it.

You can see dung beetles climbing on top of their dung balls for various reasons. One is that their feet get hot when they’re rolling it across the scorching sand, so they’ll climb on top to cool their feet. Second, dung beetles get up higher to orient themselves using the Milky Way to find their way home!