Tunneling-behavior
Guides
Digitonthophagus gazella
Gazelle scarab, Brown dung beetle
Digitonthophagus gazella is a dung beetle native to Afro-Asian regions that has been widely introduced across the Americas, Australia, and Pacific islands for biological control of cattle dung. The species exhibits rapid colonization ability due to high reproductive rates, opportunistic resource utilization, and strong dispersal capacity. It has become established in numerous tropical and subtropical regions, with documented naturalized populations in North, Central, and South America. The species shows complex nesting behavior involving tunnel construction by both sexes and has been extensively studied for its ecological impacts on native dung beetle assemblages.
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)Phanaeus difformis
Phanaeus difformis is a dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae native to the south-central United States and adjacent far northern Mexico. It belongs to a genus known for colorful, horned males that specialize in burying mammal dung for larval development. The species may hybridize with the more common P. vindex where their ranges overlap. Like other Phanaeus species, it provides ecosystem services through dung burial and nutrient recycling.