Late last year members of our group were invited by the Cardinia West Gippsland Landcare Network to join them in a monthly dung beetles survey.
The mechanics of the survey are simple.
Every month we record the date, time and weather conditions as we put a pile of dung in a bucket of water.
After a ten minute soak we agitate the water slowly and the helpful little beetles that are present in our dung float to the surface.
With the aid of a magnifying glass and field guide notes, sometimes a smartphone camera and iNaturalist, we are able to record the types and numbers of dung beetles we find.
The information collated in the survey will identify the locations and times of the year where particular species of beetles are active and conversely will identify activity gaps, times where there are no active species and thus the dung is not being broken down by beetles.
It is is hoped that once the seasonal and species activity gaps are confirmed, that some species can be introduced to cover these gaps. There is also potential for sharing and swapping beetles between members and groups.
A group in Tasmania was able to supply a Cardinia Landcare Network group with autumn active Geotrupes spinager in return for their plentiful spring active Onthophagus taurus beetles.
It is not too late to contribute to the surveys.
If you are interested you can contact Sue Finlay facilitator@wpcln.org.au
This is the excellent dung beetle resource document published by Melbourne Water:
At the introductory event for our survey members we were very fortunate to have Dr Russ Burrows talking to us about the beetles. Russ led a large project studying beetles in Southern Australia between 2018-2023, Dung Beetles Ecosystem Engineers. Here is informaton from that study:
The Local Dung Beetle Guide from the Geelong and Upper Barwon Landcare Network has been a very useful resource for identifying our beetles.
It is possible there may be some of these still available if you contact the Networks.
Thanks to Sue Finlay, Greg Collins, Karen Thomas and the enthusiastic dung beetle custodians Cannibal Creek Landcare Group, for helping us as we survey and learn about the beetles:)
