This is How Poop Disappears
Have you ever wondered what happens to that unsightly pile of poop you find in your backyard or local park?
The world has a poop problem. A big one. By 2030, it will be a 3.7 billion-tons-a-year problem, and that’s just accounting for poop produced by farmed animals.
It might seem like it's there forever, but nature has a remarkable way of cleaning up after us – and our pets.
And who is the unsung superhero? Insects of course.
Coprophagous insects (poop-eaters) are decomposers/recyclers. Dung. Feces. Stool. Excrement.
We have many words for poop. And there is indeed a word for eating it. “Coprophagy” (pronounced cop-roe-fay-jee) is the scientific term for ingesting feces. The word dates back to the 1800s and has Greek origins, combining the terms “kopros” (dung) and “phagos" (eating). There are even specific terms for eating one’s own feces - “autologous (ah-tall-o-gus) coprophagy” - versus eating the feces of another animal - “non-autologous coprophagy.”
Yes that might be yucky but can you imagine what the world would be like if we had to walk on a big layer of poop all of the time. (Bad news, soil is in part, poop).
Dung Beetles: The Ultimate Poop Recyclers
Rainbow dung beetle (poop eaters can be pretty too)
Dung beetles get their name from their diet of animal poo. Wherever there are herbivorous mammals leaving droppings, there are beetles making the most of it. They bury poop underground, reducing its visibility and preventing the spread of parasites. By burying poop, they also improve soil aeration and fertility.
Ancient Egyptians believed the dung beetle would then spontaneously regenerate giving way to rebirth.
All dung beetles belong to the scarab superfamily (Scarabaeoidea). But not all scarab beetles eat dung. Those that do include the earth-boring dung beetles (Geotrupidae), the true dung beetles (Scarabaeinae) and small dung beetles (Aphodiinae). The largest may be the elephant dung beetles of the genus Heliocopris, different species of which are found in Africa and Asia and can reach 70 millimetres. As the name suggests, these feed in the dung of very large animals.'
Dung beetles consume poo throughout their life cycle. Their antennae act as poop sensors.
Some species dance on top of dung balls to take a 'celestial snapshot' to help them navigate. Others rest their hot feet on top of dung balls, and some species have puzzled researchers by appearing to gallop.
After mating, females lay their eggs on the poo. Some lay theirs inside a 'brood ball' made of poo bound together with saliva. Dung beetle larvae have sharp mouthparts. They use these to chomp through coarse droppings. The adults also slurp nutritious liquid from the leavings. The beetles target the nitrogen rich particles in droppings. This helps them to build proteins, including muscle.
'Rollers' regularly transport balls of poo that are 10 to 30 times their size. In extreme cases some can roll balls 79 times their own body weight. They can travel up to 200 meters to find a safe place to bury what they find.
Most species target the poo of herbivores and omnivores. Some eat fungi, fruits and rotten plant material and other dung beetles are predators. Deltochilum valgum in Peru hunts millipedes, and Canthon virens in Brazil eats the queens of leaf-cutter ants.
The taurus scarab, Onthophagus taurus, needs powerful muscles to defend its territory. Females dig mating burrows to attract a mate and males must push their rivals out of the tunnel. The strongest males can pull 1,141 times their own body weight, the same as a person pulling six double decker buses! This makes these dung beetles the strongest animals on Earth for their size.
Flies: The Initial Colonizers
When I took my forensic entomology courses I was struck by this metallic blue or green fly that would always show up. A few of us noted seeing them at restaurants sometimes.
My professor laughed and said those flies eat poop and dead animals and throw it back up on your. burgers! It;s true these are the first flies you see coming to eat poop and dead bodies. If you see them where you are eating you might want to question the hygiene.
In the wild, flies such as the house fly or the black soldier fly thrive on manure. It has just the right amount of nutrients and moisture and is the perfect growing medium for their larvae. In spring and summer, with warm temperatures, they’ll go from egg to adult in just a few weeks.
There's a pretty famous expression in relation to flies on poop, though it usually involves a ruder word than "poop." The idea that flies just can't help themselves around feces is one that's so ingrained in our collective consciousness, we probably haven't ever questioned it. Flies like to swarm around the grossest stuff, after all, from overflowing trash-cans to dead animals and rotting produce.
For instance, houseflies typically exist on a liquid diet because they can't chew solid food. They regurgitate digestive juices onto solid foods and these juices break down the food into small pieces, allowing them to use their mouth-parts, called proboscis, to drink the meal. Flies actually taste with their feet, because their receptors, or chemonsensilla, are located there. So, flies land on something to eat it, essentially.
Other Insects: Supporting Cast
Carrion beetles: These beetles are similar to dung beetles but often prefer the remains of dead animals. However, they can also contribute to poop decomposition.
Predatory insects: While not directly involved in breaking down poop, insects like ground beetles and spiders prey on the flies and maggots that inhabit the poop, helping to control their populations.
Beneficial Nematodes
These tiny roundworms are often overlooked but play a vital role in breaking down organic matter, including poop. They feed on bacteria and other microorganisms, helping to accelerate the decomposition process. Nematodes improve soil health and contribute to nutrient cycling.
