Along for the Ride

A few weekends ago, I was near Lake Naivasha with some friends, staying in one of my favourite spots. Wildlife abounds there, and this time as well as the usual giraffe, zebra, gazelle and hippo, we saw buffalo and jackal down at the lake front. I wasn’t so keen on the buffalo sighting when on foot, though they were a fair way off at least. On a walk on the Sunday, Jill and I came across a round piece of dung being moved along the path by 2 quite large dung beetles. There was no other dung in sight, so goodness knows how far these rather determined beetles had come already. We weren’t sure if it was our presence that did it, but the beetles’ course changed on getting closer to us, and they veered off the path onto the grass. This must have been much harder for them, as they were now having to get the ball over stems of grass and hummocks. It was then we noticed that it was actually just one of them doing all the work, planting its back legs on the ball, and using its front legs to push it along, while all the time, its companion was sitting on top of the ball, and seemed to just be along for the ride! According to Wikipedia, this is normal: “The "rollers" roll and bury a dung ball either for food storage or for making a brooding ball. In the latter case, two beetles, one male and one female, will be seen around the dung ball during the rolling process. Usually it is the male that rolls the ball, with the female hitch-hiking or simply following behind. In some cases the male and the female roll together. When a spot with soft soil is found, they stop and bury the dung ball. They will then mate underground. After the mating, both or one of them will prepare the brooding ball. When the ball is finished, the female lays eggs inside it.” It seems that once the larvae hatch, they make use of this food source at hand, and feed on the dung, Very clever, and wonderful to have witnessed part of the journey – but I can't say that I’d fancy starting life that way!