Dung Beetles

[MadRanchTX]

I was reading yesterday about dung beetles and their benefits as parasite and fly control, and manure incorporation. When I got home last night I checked cow patties and didn't see any sign of them. Any folks have an option (I realize that is an open invitation) on their benefits. If you don't have them where can you get them, do people sell them, and how many do you need. Can you base the number on x per cow or x per acre?
Mark

 

[Kingfisher]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dung_beetle

 

[agmantoo]

MadRanchTX

I tried to purchase some dung beetles to get a start on my place of the imported dung beetles. The research and the benefits of dung beetles are typical of what happens in a country where lobbiests have too much influence. The most significant research was done in Texas and was on a government grant. It was a truly worthwhile effort. It was already known the importance of the insects from the importations of dung beetles into Australia. Here in the USA the project was showing merit and some imported dung beetles had been released. A manufacturer of insecticides being sold to the cattle industry saw that the introduction of the dung beetles was going to impact the sale of fly control products. Thur the efforts of the insecticide industry and their lobbiests they influenced some politicians to get the grant withdrawn as the results were "conflicting with the insecticide industry to conduct free trade". The industry was not satisfied just to do that. Under mandate they managed for all the research information and lab tests be required to be destroyed. There are two individuals I am aware of that on their own have continue to study the insects. One of these persons in at a university in Texas. This reply is based on what I remember from a number of years ago and is thought by me to be accurate. What a shame.
PS...Dr. Pat Richardson, female at Texas A&M is the Texas expert

 

[Jogeephus]

Here, its still a little early to see many of them yet.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I was confused there for a minute I thought the title said DUN's Beetles heck I didn't even know he raised beetles

 

[cmf1]

Just walking through a paddock I grazed a week ago and saw a mess of drill holes in the old patties.
They must like it better dry cause they sure aren't getting any moisture out of the ground around here right now.

 

[Jogeephus]

Saw my first three drills this afternoon. In about a month you can watch a cow plop one down and watch the little buggers fly in for landings. Don't know how they know or where they come from but they sure don't let a turd go unturned around here.

 

[agmantoo]

Jogeephus
Any idea of the species of dung beetle on your place? The species Onthophagus gazella is supposedly the most desired beetle. By the way, the man that headed up the early research with the beetles is now retired to Georgia.

 

[Jogeephus]

I haven't keyed any out but from observation I'd say we got three types. We have that huge one you see in the pictures rolling the ball. Don't see to many of these but I do see them. Lots of times a bird or something will leave them stuck to the barbs on the barbwire for some reason. Then we have a moderate sized one a little less than a half inch long. They tend to leave dirt piles on top of the pies. Then there is another that is about a quarter inch long. These are abundant and seem to prefer to fly. In two days they will have a pie looking like someone shot it with buckshot and in less than a week it is all but gone.

 

[agmantoo]

Jogeephus
If you have any of these beetles http://insects.tamu.edu/images/insects/ ... mg147.html and know a kid that would like to make some spending money I am interested in knowing what it would cost to get a 100 or so beetles sent to NC. I already know that it is permissible to mail then.

 

[Jogeephus]

I don't think ours is a gold metalic color like that but I'll snap some pictures of them and you can make the id. The smaller ones are very plentiful.

 

[cmf1]

That's the kind I mostly see other than the flyers.
It doesn't take them long to find fresh pie.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I was always envious of others talking about their dung beetles, thinking we didn't have any.
Last year, we had a "bug walk" and the entomoligist found lots of them. Ours are just very small - most being like 1/4 inch some even smaller. But, they drill the heck out of the piles.
A very "popular" dewormer used to claim to be the "only" dewormer that didn't affect/kill dung beetles. That was proven wrong and they are not supposed to claim that any more.
If you put a dung beetle in any dewormer (I mean like drown him) yes, it will die. But deworming cattle & having the dung beetle eat the cow paddy does NOT kill the beetle.

 

[agmantoo]

Not trying to start a riff but as a supporter for facts I think you will find that Dr Truman Fincher's research does not support the argument that insecticides do not harm dung beetles. Dr Fincher was the foremost authority in this country on dung beetles prior to his retirement.

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/dungbeetle.html

 

[Jogeephus]

I don't use Ivermectin boluses so I can't comment on that but I do use Ivermectin and I can't see any problems with it. I'm sure it could kill them but ivermectin is in the same family of insecticides as the one that was making the false claims so I'll keep my business with the one that doesn't lie. I've also heard that farming is bad for them yet we do a lot of spraying and see no reduction in the population. When professors start pushing extreme ideas (not saying this one is) it just makes me wonder who is funding the research.

 

[cmf1]

Yep.
There's the truth that you see with your own two eyes,
and then there's funding that'll go to great lengths to blur your vision with only pieces of what is apparent.

 

[Jogeephus]

Agman, isn't CT great!?! What other place on the internet could you get someone to go out and poke around in crap for ya. :lol2: Well I poked and prodded and rounded up some pics our dung beetles. Couldn't find any of the big ball rollers today but I did find two others that I had never noticed before. (I guess its not often I find myself scratching through ..)

Here is a picture taken from the central hub area of a farm that has about 80 head on it. This is the only shade and is the primary lounging area they use when they are in the pasture they are. As you can see, there are very few visible pies in the photo cause they don't last more than a day or two before they are eaten.

This is a pie that was dropped this morning.

Scratching it open reveals some dung beetles.

Here is another pie that has the bird shot appearance.

Never noticed before but it appears we have another tiny dung beetle about the size of a pine beetle. Some of the pies I escavated had hundred of these in them. (of course they could be babies) This is the normal and the peewee beetles.

Here is the two most common I see. The bottom one is the flyer. They come in within minutes of a patty hitting the ground.

Here is another day old patty but I noticed something different in it.

Closer examination I found this one which I'd never seen before. So as of today I can safely say I have five different ones that I've seen.

 

[upfrombottom]

They say as you get older you'll revert back to your childhood. I can remember as a kid watching tumble bugs (dung beetles) for hours. Along with the ants and bees, very interesting entertainment.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I had never gave much thought to Dung beetles have always just noticed they were around until I got on this forum I have since paid more attention to them and I have a fairly healthy population as any cow pie over a few hrs old has the holes in it and if checked the next day it looks like the buckshot photo

 

[Jogeephus]

Same here. I was kinda like Jean. Didn't know till I knew where to look.

They say as you get older you'll revert back to your childhood. I can remember as a kid watching tumble bugs (dung beetles) for hours. Along with the ants and bees, very interesting entertainment.

Yeah, I like to watch the goliaths that actually roll the dung into a ball and roll them around. Just don't see many of these here.

One of my goals has been to refurbish the quality of the soil on our land. 100+ years of row cropping has taken its toll. I see the dung beetle as a tool that could be used toward this end. I think with the use of some temporary fencing I can shift the concentration areas across the worst areas in a few years. Thus far I've learned its a lot more cost effective to work with nature than against it.