Dung Beetles
About the project
In areas of Australia, imported dung beetles have been shown to increase the pasture growth response by 27% over a two-year period.
By burying livestock dung (Australian livestock produce some 300 million tonnes a year), dung beetles can improve soil, reduce water runoff, reduce livestock parasites, sequester carbon and reduce emissions, improve pastures, and reduce bush fly and buffalo fly populations. One of the other essential ecosystem services dung beetles perform is controlling livestock parasites like gut worms.
East Gippsland
A number of workshops have been run on Dung Beetles in East Gippsland. Topics cover:
Dung beetles and what they do for our soils
Locally found dung beetle species
How to trap dung beetles to find out what is on your farm
How to love capture dung beetles and relocate
The National Dung Beetle Ecosystem Engineers Project and its activities within East Gippsland
Dung beetle exchange
Dung beetle nurseries
Resources
Geotrupis spinager 2021 Waierwa
Onthophagus in a horse nugget - Wairewa 2021
Dung Beetle Hunt at Waierwa 2021
Wairewa 2021
2019 Dung Beetle Day
Dung Beetle Workshop & exchange 2022
2022
Hunting for Beetles at Cann River 2021
Acknowledgements
The Top Soils program is supported by the East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. Project partners include, Southern Farming Systems, Agriculture Victoria, East Gippsland Landcare Network, Far East Victoria Landcare and Snowy River Interstate Landcare Committee.
