dung

Recently, that helped them catch a suspected nighthawker hiding behind a pile of manure after his footprints on the fresh dung heap shone up on thermal imaging.

And when describing her underachieving brother’s shortcomings, she says, “He’s got the brains of a dung beetle and the ambitions of a French bureaucrat.”

The dung beetle, which disperses seeds as it rolls its dung balls, fertilizing topsoil and enhancing biodiversity and engineering its environment, normally orients itself using the Milky Way and the moon.

Other scientists praise the study’s innovative use of high-resolution imaging technology to turn dollops of dung into goldmines of information.

In 10 to 12 days, adults surface to feast for roughly 90 days on honeydew melon, decaying fruit, plant nectar and bird dung.