Dung beetles – why nature and humans need them
Africa has the richest dung beetle fauna of any world region, with roughly half the world's diversity, most of it in the tropical savannas of southern and east Africa. They vary in size, appearance, and behaviour.
On August 28, Hennie de Klerk from the Vaal Bird Club will introduce dung beetles to the local community at the monthly Feathers Bird Club’s social gathering. He will be showing their incredible diversity and their important role in the environment.
Dung beetles are one of several groups of insects that provide essential and free ecosystem services in all natural and agroecosystems across Africa. Thousands of dung beetles belonging to hundreds of species are responsible for the burial of tonnes of dung of every kind each day, with resultant improvement of friability, aeration, and fertilisation of the soil, while their burrows and tunnels allow water penetration after rain.
Furthermore, their activities also prevent flies and livestock parasites from developing. Flies are a major cause of human enteric diseases, including often fatal, infant diarrhoea, while livestock parasites cause debilitating, often fatal diseases.
The meeting starts at 18:00 at Sally Martin Park, and anyone is welcome to join. For more information, contact Martin Wolmarans (0828512121), Marisa Louw (0649635386), or Tertia Pretorius (0832877470).
