Stanthorpe Eco Expo 2023

Rob will presented his speech “Who stole my Dung? – Unravelling the mysteries of Dung Beetles”, which will focus on the basic biology of dung beetles and their role in nutrient cycling, water infiltration and soil aeration.

The humble dung beetle is the small, industrious and unsung hero of pasture management, helping to bury millions of tonnes of sheep and cattle dung under the soil surface every year. Dung beetles have multiple benefits for soil health by burying dung underground - efficiently placing fertilizer at the rootzone and simultaneously aerating the soil. The flow on benefits for farmers and livestock are that parasite and bush fly levels are reduced, and that water and nutrient run-off from farms is improved.

Rob Young, co-founder of Eco Insects in Toowoomba, explains that “very few producers really understand the value and role of dung beetles on their farm, so the job of providing producers with a means of accessing beetles, knowledge and practical expertise that they can use on their farm has only just begun. Our focus is on helping producers learn about, source and maintain healthy beetle populations.”

Rob has been part of the Dung Beetle Ecosystem Engineers project, a five-year collaborative project involving CSIRO, Meat and Livestock Australia, Charles Sturt University and various other researchers, which had a number of themes:

· Importing new strains and species of dung beetles into Australia

· Rearing and distributing dung beetles at new sites

· Monitoring the biology and efficiency of introduced dung beetles across sites

· Creating a database of dung beetle species distribution and biology across Australia

· Training, educating and delivering information to pasture managers

· Quantifying the economic value of dung beetles

The Dung Beetle Ecosystem Engineers project was finalised in December 2022, but Eco Insects continues to work with CSIRO and other project partners as they breed some of the new species for distribution and release in Australia. In the Stanthorpe area there are currently 8 species that have been identified on farms.

Dung beetles are seasonal insects, with most species completing their lifecycle over 12 months. Certain environmental factors, such as very wet conditions or destocked farms with an absence of fresh dung will hinder population levels. Suppliers of dung beetles, such as Eco Insects in Toowoomba, can help farmers reestablish good populations of beetles.