Wildlife Guide · Africa & Europe
Dung Beetle
Scarabaeus sacer
The strong beetle that rolls balls of dung
Image: Photo: Axel Strauß / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
In brief
Dung beetles are beetles that feed on animal droppings, and many are famous for rolling dung into balls and pushing them away to bury as food or a brood chamber. They are remarkably strong for their size and play a vital role in recycling waste, improving soil, and reducing pests.
By the WARN Research & Conservation TeamChecked against IUCN Red List & CITES sourcesLast updated
Dung beetles are beetles that feed on animal droppings, and many are famous for rolling dung into balls and pushing them away to bury as food or a brood chamber. They are remarkably strong for their size and play a vital role in recycling waste, improving soil, and reducing pests. Found on every continent except Antarctica, dung beetles include species that roll, tunnel, or simply dwell in dung.
0.025 m
Typical length
3 g
Typical weight
1 km/h
Top speed
1 yrs
Lifespan
Figures sourced from Wikipedia — Dung Beetle, Wikidata — Dung Beetle .
Dung Beetle: Quick Facts
| Scientific name | Scarabaeus sacer |
|---|---|
| Diet | Coprophagous (animal dung) |
| Habitat | Grasslands, farmland, forests, and deserts |
| Lifespan | Around 1 to 3 years |
| Length | 0.5–3 cm depending on species |
| Strength | Can move many times its own body weight |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
Scientific Classification
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Coleoptera |
| Family | Scarabaeidae |
| Genus | Scarabaeus |
Conservation Status
- IUCN Status
- Least Concern (IUCN Red List category)
- Population
- Global population not compiled for this guide
- Trend
- See the IUCN Red List assessment
- Assessed
- See the IUCN Red List assessment
- CITES
- See CITES appendices
Conservation figures are drawn from the IUCN Red List and CITES; this guide links to the authoritative sources rather than restating population counts.
Key Facts: Dung Beetle
- Dung beetles use dung in different ways depending on the species.
- Dung beetles are among the strongest animals for their size.
- Both adults and larvae feed on dung, which provides nutrients and moisture.
Rollers, tunnelers, and dwellers
Dung beetles use dung in different ways depending on the species. Rollers shape dung into balls and push them away to bury, tunnelers dig down beneath a dung pat to store it, and dwellers simply live within the dung itself. The rolling species are the most famous, navigating in straight lines sometimes using the sun, the moon, or even the band of the Milky Way.
Remarkable strength
Dung beetles are among the strongest animals for their size. Some species can pull loads many hundreds of times their own body weight, the equivalent of a person hauling several loaded trucks. This strength helps them move dung balls far larger and heavier than themselves across uneven ground.
Diet and reproduction
Both adults and larvae feed on dung, which provides nutrients and moisture. Many species form a brood ball in which the female lays an egg, so the hatching larva has a ready food supply. By burying dung, the beetles also plant it underground where it nourishes the soil.
Ecological importance
By burying and consuming dung, dung beetles recycle nutrients, improve soil structure, and reduce the breeding grounds of pest flies and parasites that thrive in droppings. They also help disperse seeds contained in dung. These services make them valuable to farmers and to natural grassland ecosystems worldwide.
What WARN Does
WARN does not run a dedicated dung beetle programme — this guide is part of the World Animal Rescue Network's free educational library. The dung beetle is currently widespread and not globally threatened, and this guide helps readers understand the pressures that can change that. Building public understanding of species like the dung beetle supports the broader conservation awareness that underpins WARN's partner-led rescue work across its network.
If clear, science-based wildlife guides like this help you understand and value animals, please consider supporting the World Animal Rescue Network's educational and rescue work so we can keep producing them.
Dung Beetle: Frequently Asked Questions
Why do dung beetles roll dung?
How strong are dung beetles?
What do dung beetles eat?
Are dung beetles useful?
How do dung beetles navigate?
Where do dung beetles live?
Are dung beetles dangerous?
How long do dung beetles live?
How big is a dung beetle?
Sources & References
Population figures, conservation status and biological facts on this page are drawn from authoritative scientific and intergovernmental sources.
Terms used on this page
Plain-English definitions, from our wildlife and conservation glossary.
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