Pasture-ecosystem
Guides
Labarrus pseudolividus
Labarrus pseudolividus is a dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) native to the Nearctic and Neotropical regions, with introduced populations in Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Africa. The species has been used as a model organism in methodology studies testing flotation and sieve-separation techniques for collecting dung beetles from dung pats. It is classified as a 'dweller' type dung beetle that inhabits dung rather than tunneling beneath it.
Onthophagus nuchicornis
Small black-and-brown Dung Beetle
Onthophagus nuchicornis is a Palearctic dung beetle introduced to North America in the 1840s, now established across Canada and the northern United States. The species exhibits generalist coprophagy, successfully reproducing using dung from both domestic livestock and indigenous mammals including bobcat, moose, red fox, and raccoon. It possesses an obligatory cold reproductive diapause restricting it to a single generation per year. In the United Kingdom, it is listed as Vulnerable, while in North America it is abundant and has been employed as a model organism for ecotoxicological studies of ivermectin effects on dung burial behavior.
dung-beetleintroduced-speciescoprophagediapauseecotoxicology-modelpasture-ecosystemsexual-dimorphismivermectin-effectsgeneralist-feederPalaearctic-nativeNearctic-introducedsingle-generation-per-yearbrood-balltunneling-behaviorcompetition-with-native-speciesCLIMEX-bioclimatic-modelnutrient-cyclingsoil-aerationcattle-pasture-managementVulnerable-(UK)Scathophaga stercoraria
yellow dung fly, golden dung fly
Scathophaga stercoraria, commonly known as the yellow dung fly or golden dung fly, is a widespread and abundant dipteran species found across the Northern Hemisphere. Adults are sexually dimorphic: males display bright golden-yellow coloration with orange-yellow fur on the front legs, while females are duller with green-brown tinges and lack the brightly colored leg fur. The species is strongly associated with the dung of large mammals, where it breeds and where males establish territories to intercept females. Adults are predatory, feeding on smaller insects and occasionally nectar, while larvae are coprophagous, developing within dung. The species has become an important model organism in evolutionary biology, particularly for studies of sexual selection, sperm competition, and life history evolution.