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Great Britain dung beetle
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Great Britain dung beetle
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- 回复 岳东晓
- 哇，撼动这么大的球
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dung_beetle
[Those that eat dung do not need to eat or drink anything else, because the dung provides all the necessary nutrients. Most dung beetles search for dung using their sensitive sense of smell. Some smaller species simply attach themselves to the dung-providers to wait for the dung. After capturing the dung, a dung beetle rolls it, following a straight line despite all obstacles. Sometimes, dung beetles try to steal the dung ball from another beetle, so the dung beetles have to move rapidly away from a dung pile once they have rolled their ball to prevent it from being stolen. Dung beetles can roll up to 10 times their weight. ]
- 回复 岳东晓
- 哈哈，很厉害啊： In 2013, a study was published revealing that dung beetles can navigate when only the Milky Way or clusters of bright stars are visible,[8][9] the only insect known to orient itself by the galaxy.
- 回复 岳东晓
- Fascinating indeed: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130124123203.htm
"The dung beetles don't care which direction they're going in; they just need to get away from the bun fight at the poo pile," said Professor Marcus Byrne from Wits University.
Byrne and his team previously proved that dung beetles use the sun, the moon and polarised light for orientation. In their experiments, they gave the beetles "caps" which blocked light from reaching their eyes. The team also discovered that the beetles climb on top of their dung balls to perform an orientation "dance" during which they locate light sources to use for orientation.
Now, further experiments, conducted under the simulated night sky of the Wits Planetarium, have shown that the beetles also use the Mohawk of the Milky Way -- giving new meaning to dancing with the stars!
"We were sitting out in Vryburg (conducting experiments) and the Milky Way was this massive light source. We thought they have to be able to use this -- they just have to!" said Byrne.
