Dung Beetles

Which species of dung beetles might be present on your property? These posters provide detailed information on the species present on the NSW north coast.

Dung beetle releases have occurred across the north coast during the past two summers.

Australia has more than 500 species of native dung beetles and 50 species introduced from Africa and southern Europe.

The introduced dung beetles are very useful where they are well established, burying large volumes of cattle, sheep and horse dung, and provide many benefits for soil, water and pasture, as well as biological control of flies and internal parasites. Introduced dung beetles bury dung at depths from 10cm to 1 metre, and recirculate subsoil to the surface in the process.

Dung beetle research

Researchers from Southern Cross University are building on the previous dung beetle releases, with a mission to find out how different farming practices – such as grazing intensity, veterinary medicine use, pasture management and supplementary nutrition – impact dung beetles and soil health.

PhD candidate Ed White is conducting field work at nine local livestock properties, monitoring and trapping dung beetles, and taking samples of soil and dung from each farm. This work is being supported by the Lismore Node of the Southern Queensland and Northern NSW Innovation Hub.

“The Northern Rivers is a diverse area, so we need to do a comprehensive analysis of multiple management practices, across different seasons,” he said. “Our goal is to discover what species of dung beetles are actually on the farms and, combined with microbiota analysis of the soil and dung samples, we’ll gain insights into interactions between dung beetles, soil microbes and farm management practices. This will help producers learn how they can help dung beetles thrive on their property.”