Long ago, there lives a rich and beautiful cow and her daughter. Although the cow likes to stay clean, she and her daughter are lazy. So they set about finding an animal who is able to clean up after them. Many animals try working for them: an elephant, giraffe, squirrel and hyena. But the cow is not satified. She turns to the insect population, thinking that although they are small, they might work harder. And so the insects compete for the job. It is the resourceful beetle who finally wins. The beetle is able to roll cow-dung into balls, in which she can lay her eggs to produce more beetles to work for the cow.

Book for landholders & land management organisations about benefits of dung beetles for agriculture and the environment

In many ecosystems dung beetles play a crucial role--both ecologically and economically--in the decomposition of large herbivore dung. Their activities provide scientists with an excellent opportunity to explore biological community dynamics. This collection of essays offers a concise account of the population and community ecology of dung beetles worldwide, with an emphasis on comparisons between arctic, temperate, and tropical species assemblages. Useful insights arise from relating the vast differences in species' life histories to their population and community-level consequences. The authors also discuss changes in dung beetle faunas due to human-caused habitat alteration and examine the possible effects of introducing dung beetles to cattle-breeding areas that lack efficient native species. "With the expansion of cattle breeding areas, the ecology of dung beetles is a subject of great economic concern as well as one of intense theoretical interest. This excellent book represents an up-to-date ecological study covering important aspects of the dung beetle never before presented."--Gonzalo Halffter, Instituto de Ecologia, Mexico City Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

'a true gem' —London Naturalist 'I love this book' —Nick Baker The author completes the book with an identification guide to dung itself, so that you can identify the animal that left it behind. Pellets or pats? Scats, spraints, frass, guano, spoor learn your way around different species droppings. There's also a dung-feeder s identification guide that includes the species you re most likely to encounter on an exploration of the dung heap. Journey through the digestive systems of humans, farm and wild animals, and meet some of nature’s ultimate recyclers as they eat, breed in and compete for dung. The fall of bodily waste onto the ground is the start of a race against the clock as a multitude of dung-feeders and scavengers consume this rich food source. From the enigmatic dung-rolling beetles to bat guano and giant elephant droppings, dung creates a miniature ecosystem to be explored by the aspiring dung watcher. The author completes the book with an identification guide to dung itself, so that you can identify the animal that left it behind. Pellets or pats? Scats, spraints, frass, guano, spoor – learn your way around different species’ droppings. There’s also a dung-feeder’s identification guide that includes the species you’re most likely to encounter on an exploration of the dung heap.

For a relatively small group of insects, dung beetles have attracted an inordinate amount of scientific interest over the years. This started with the work of the famous French naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre about 100 years ago, but it the work of Gonzalo Halffter of Mexico, and his colleagues, who first placed dung beetles on the scientific map by the publication of two important synthetic works. The first was published in 1966 ("Natural History") and this was followed by another in 1982 ("Nesting and Breeding Behaviour"). A multi-authored book on dung beetle ecology, edited by Ilkka Hanski and Yves Cambefort, was published in 1991. These volumes are long out of print and mostly unavailable. In the 18 years since the last book was published there has been a steady stream of research published on dung beetle phylogeny, biogeography, physiological ecology and conservation, fields that were not, or barely treated in the previous books. The current work synthesises and updates most of the major elements covered in those studies, but introduces several novel sections in a phylogenetic approach to the natural history of dung beetles. The aspects covered, in five sections, are the following: evolution and ecological success of dung beetles; physiological and behavioural ecology of dung beetles; phylogeny of the Scarabaeinae; historical biogeography of the Scarabaeinae and its physical and biotic drivers; and, conservation of dung beetles. The content of the book is balanced in such a way that the information contained in it should be of interest to general entomologists, research specialists on dung beetle natural history, insects systematists, students of entomology, agricultural scientists and insect conservationists.

Awarded Best Reference by the New York Public Library (2004), Outstanding Academic Title by CHOICE (2003), and AAP/PSP 2003 Best Single Volume Reference/Sciences by Association of American Publishers' Professional Scholarly Publishing Division, the first edition of Encyclopedia of Insects was acclaimed as the most comprehensive work devoted to insects. Covering all aspects of insect anatomy, physiology, evolution, behavior, reproduction, ecology, and disease, as well as issues of exploitation, conservation, and management, this book sets the standard in entomology. The second edition of this reference will continue the tradition by providing the most comprehensive, useful, and up-to-date resource for professionals. Expanded sections in forensic entomology, biotechnology and Drosphila, reflect the full update of over 300 topics. Articles contributed by over 260 high profile and internationally recognized entomologists provide definitive facts regarding all insects from ants, beetles, and butterflies to yellow jackets, zoraptera, and zygentoma. - 66% NEW and revised content by over 200 international experts - New chapters on Bedbugs, Ekbom Syndrome, Human History, Genomics, Vinegaroons - Expanded sections on insect-human interactions, genomics, biotechnology, and ecology - Each of the 273 articles updated to reflect the advances which have taken place in entomology research since the previous edition - Features 1,000 full-color photographs, figures and tables - A full glossary, 1,700 cross-references, 3,000 bibliographic entries, and online access save research time - Updated with online access

This book describes the evolutionary and ecological consequences of reproductive competition for scarabaeine dung beetles. As well as giving us insight into the private lives of these fascinating creatures, this book shows how dung beetles can be used as model systems for improving our general understanding of broad evolutionary and ecological processes, and how they generate biological diversity. Over the last few decades we have begun to see further than ever before, with our research efforts yielding new information at all levels of analysis, from whole organism biology to genomics. This book brings together leading researchers who contribute chapters that integrate our current knowledge of phylogenetics and evolution, developmental biology, comparative morphology, physiology, behaviour, and population and community ecology. Dung beetle research is shedding light on the ultimate question of how best to document and conserve the world's biodiversity. The book will be of interest to established researchers, university teachers, research students, conservation biologists, and those wanting to know more about the dung beetle taxon.