Two years into the dung beetle project and much of the trapping for the South-West has been completed. Identification is still ongoing, though preliminary species present in our area have been established and now it is a matter of working out the species numbers at various times of the year.  

Heading into autumn we will be seeing a changeover of species as our summer active beetles die out and our winter actives start gearing up. Let’s have a look at what you might be seeing in the paddock.  

Early autumn will see the last hurrah for species like; 

• Euoniticellus fulvus
• Euoniticellus pallipes
• Onitis aygulus
• Onthophagus binodis  
• Onthophagus taurus

These species will taper off over autumn and be gone by the start of winter not reappearing again until late spring.  

We have two species emerging through autumn; Aphodius fimetarius, and Geotrupes spiniger. Aphodius fimetarius, an orange-red and black dung beetle, is most active during the day and is a dweller, meaning that it lives in dung pats.  

Geotrupes Spiniger, a shiny black beetle with a metallic blue underside, is most active at dusk and dawn and is a tunneler, meaning it creates tunnels under dun pats to live in.  

The Bubas bison will also make an appearance for the winter shift, however, it will not be active until May/June. 

Keep your eyes out for these ecological engineers as they go to work for you.