Cooling methods of dung beetles
New research has suggested that dung beetles roll faeces into a ball as a "mobile thermal refuge" to cool them down in the desert.
Though it is common knowledge that dung beetles eat faeces, functional zoologist, Jochen Smolka, and his colleagues have discovered that they also use balls of dung to cool themselves down in desert heat.
The study, published in the latest issue of Current Biology, showed that at ground temperatures below 50°C, beetles were observed rolling their balls about without pause, but the time spent rolling the balls decreased in temperatures above 50°C, and the beetles would stand on top of them often.
Dung beetles transport faeces by rolling it into a ball and pushing it across the dessert with its hind legs. Thermal imaging revealed that their front legs get up to ten degrees hotter during ball rolling, but they cool instantly when they climb on top.
Scientists found that, as moisture evaporates from them, the balls of faeces can remain as cool as 32°C on 60°C soil.
The study read: "Because beetles roll their ball rather than drag it, the ball preceding the beetle cools down the sand the beetle is about to step on".
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
