You may have heard about Dung Beetles... Turns out their mastery doesn't revolve only around poop! They are also great astronomers who have mastered the art of celestial navigation!
This is the finding of a fun 2013 paper I recently stumbled upon.
It all started when a bunch of researchers set out to explore how dung beetles find their way in the dark. Their first thought was that they use the strong light of the moon.
But what really puzzled them was their ability to move in a straight line even on moonless nights. This suggested that they used the lights of the stars ✨
African ball-rolling dung beetles exploit the sun, the moon, and the celestial polarization pattern to move along straight paths, away from the intense competition at the dung pile. Even on clear moonless nights, many beetles still manage to orientate along straight paths. This led us to hypothesize that dung beetles exploit the starry sky for orientation, a feat that has, to our knowledge, never been demonstrated in an insect.
So they conducted a series of experiments, both under the night sky and inside a planetarium where they could emulate the "starlight" in numerous ways.
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In both experiments the beetles successfully walked in a straight line and navigated their environment. That was in contrast to the control groups, who had either access to less fake stars in the planetarium or their eyes covered with a piece of cardboard taped to the back.
But why walking in a straight line is so important for dung beetles? When they wander aimlessly instead of taking the shortest route the risk of a male competitor stealing their dung is increased. Poop needs to get to the destination as quickly as possible, ensuring food for themselves and their offspring.
Anyways, fun little research. Next time you look at the starry sky remember...Chances are a beetle somewhere in Africa is doing the same... Depending on the milky way to carry its poop 😂
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