An Unusual Meal Like the sexton beetle, a dung beetle is a scavenger. It eats dung, or animal waste. Kavanaugh finds this beetle everywhere from rain forests to cow pastures. First, it gathers the dung. T en it shapes the dung into a ball. T e ball may be 50 times as heavy


as the beetle. Still, the beetle has strong legs. It pushes the ball to a soſt spot of dirt. T en it buries it. A female dung beetle will go under


the ground to lay her eggs next to the ball. Aſt er hatching, her larvae eat the dung.


More Beetles Kavanaugh knows a lot about beetles. He knows they eat meat, plants, and dead stuff . He wants to know more. One thing he knows is that there


are more beetles to discover. So his search goes on.


WORDWISE


carnivore: an animal that eats meat herbivore: an animal that eats plants


scavenger: an animal that eats dead or dying plants and animals


Using its strong back legs, this beetle rolls a ball of dung.


MARCH 2013 9


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