A recent study of Kerala’s Vypin-Kadamakkudy barrier island system recorded 20,927 dung beetles from 29 species, far more diversity than researchers expected in such an urbanising landscape.
Dung beetles are scarab beetles, mostly of the subfamily Scarabaeinae, that feed, breed and nest in animal dung. Encased in a hard exoskeleton, they are also remarkably strong. The male horned dung beetle (Onthophagus taurus), for example, can pull up to 1,141 times its own body weight; equivalent to an average human adult lifting six double-decker buses.
Dung beetles occur in forests, grasslands and deserts on every continent except Antarctica. They are vital ecological engineers, as they recycle animal waste, which in turn helps reduce methane emissions, aerate soil, and suppress pest flies. They are also secondary seed dispersers.
There are more than 6,000 species of dung beetles worldwide, of which about 400-500 have been recorded in India. They are grouped by how they handle dung — rollers, such as Gymnopleurus species, shape it into balls and roll them away to bury elsewhere; tunnellers, such as Onitis species, dig chambers beneath the pat and bury it; and dwellers, such as Oniticellus species, breed inside the pat itself.
They also differ in what they eat. Some species are generalists, surviving on the dung of any animal, while others are specialists, such as Heliocopris dominus, which can survive only on wild elephant dung.
Most Indian dung beetles have not yet been assessed on the IUCN Red List. Researchers say that habitat loss and fragmentation are major threats to dung beetles, along with the declining availability and quality of dung. In Kerala, flooding and salinity intrusion add to the pressure.
In a story published by Mongabay-India in May 2026, K.V. Vinod, a researcher at the Department of Zoology, Nirmala College (Autonomous), said: “Key threats include habitat loss and fragmentation due to rapid urban expansion, reduced dung availability, and the use of veterinary drugs such as ivermectin that can render dung toxic to beetles.”
Read more about dung beetles on an urbanising barrier island, why they matter to climate change, and how they roll dung and follow the stars.
Banner image: Dung beetles of the species Scarabaeus (Kheper) lamarcki in Africa. Image by Jochen Smolka via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
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