Dung Beetle
About the Dung Beetle
Sacred in ancient Egypt - the scarab god Khepri represented the rising sun. They navigate using the Milky Way - the only known insect to orient by stars. Some species roll dung balls up to 50 times their body weight. They save the cattle industry an estimated $380 million annually in the US alone by burying dung and controlling flies. They can bury 250 times their own weight in dung per night. Ancient Egyptians believed scarab beetles rolled the sun across the sky. Over 7,000 species worldwide.
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