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61-541: Onthophagus is a genus of dung beetles in the Onthophagini tribe of the wider scarab beetle family, Scarabaeidae . It is the most species-rich and widespread genus in the subfamily Scarabaeinae (the 'true' dung beetles), with a global distribution. The Genus name derives from the Greek onthos , meaning dung, and phagos , meaning eater. This genus includes around 30 subgenera and over 2,200 species. Some of
122-510: A deficiency state that compromises growth, survival and reproduction. Consumer advisories for dietary nutrient intakes such as the United States Dietary Reference Intake , are based on the amount required to prevent deficiency and provide macronutrient and micronutrient guides for both lower and upper limits of intake. In many countries, regulations require that food product labels display information about
183-593: A dietary inadequacy". In setting human nutrient guidelines, government organizations do not necessarily agree on amounts needed to avoid deficiency or maximum amounts to avoid the risk of toxicity. For example, for vitamin C , recommended intakes range from 40 mg/day in India to 155 mg/day for the European Union. The table below shows U.S. Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for vitamins and minerals, PRIs for
244-597: A dozen minerals absorbed through roots, plus carbon dioxide and oxygen absorbed or released through leaves. All organisms obtain all their nutrients from the surrounding environment. Plants absorb carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen from air and soil as carbon dioxide and water. Other nutrients are absorbed from soil (exceptions include some parasitic or carnivorous plants). Counting these, there are 17 important nutrients for plants: these are macronutrients; nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sulfur (S), magnesium (Mg), carbon (C), oxygen(O) and hydrogen (H), and
305-476: A food source or breeding chambers. Other dung beetles like Euoniticellus intermedius , known as tunnelers , bury the dung wherever they find it. A third group, the dwellers , neither roll nor burrow: they simply live in dung. They are often attracted by the feces collected by burrowing owls . There are dung beetle species of various colors and sizes, and some functional traits such as body mass (or biomass) and leg length can have high levels of variability. All
366-412: A form of mass provisioning . Some species do not leave after this stage, but remain to safeguard their offspring. The dung beetle goes through a complete metamorphosis . The larvae live in brood balls made with dung prepared by their parents. During the larval stage, the beetle feeds on the dung surrounding it. The behavior of the beetles was poorly understood until the studies of Jean Henri Fabre in
427-624: A nutrient does harm to an organism. In the United States and Canada, recommended dietary intake levels of essential nutrients are based on the minimum level that "will maintain a defined level of nutriture in an individual", a definition somewhat different from that used by the World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of a "basal requirement to indicate the level of intake needed to prevent pathologically relevant and clinically detectable signs of
488-791: A reduction in emissions of nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas ) from agriculture. There was, however, strong opposition from some at the University of Auckland , and a few others, based on the risks of the dung beetles acting as vectors of disease. There were public health researchers at the University of Auckland who agreed with the Environmenal Protection Authority 's risk assessment. Several Landcare programmes in Australia involved schoolchildren collecting dung beetles. The African dung beetle ( D. gazella )
549-527: A role in agriculture and tropical forests . By burying and consuming dung, they improve nutrient recycling and soil structure. Dung beetles have been further shown to improve soil conditions and plant growth on rehabilitated coal mines in South Africa. They are also important for the dispersal of seeds present in animals' dung, influencing seed burial and seedling recruitment in tropical forests. They can protect livestock, such as cattle , by removing
610-407: A sequence of the beetle rolling a dung ball. It does this to navigate. Cambefort and Hanski (1991) classified dung beetles into three functional types based on their feeding and nesting strategies such as – Rollers, Tunnelers and Dwellers. The "rollers" roll and bury a dung ball either for food storage or for making a brooding ball. In the latter case, two beetles, one male and one female, stay around
671-522: A significant impact on health. Dietary fiber is not absorbed in the human digestive tract. Soluble fiber is metabolized to butyrate and other short-chain fatty acids by bacteria residing in the large intestine. Soluble fiber is marketed as serving a prebiotic function with claims for promoting "healthy" intestinal bacteria. Ethanol (C 2 H 5 OH) is not an essential nutrient, but it does supply approximately 29 kilojoules (7 kilocalories) of food energy per gram. For spirits (vodka, gin, rum, etc.)
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#1732772644124732-726: A standard serving in the United States is 44 millilitres ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 US fluid ounces), which at 40% ethanol (80 proof) would be 14 grams and 410 kJ (98 kcal). At 50% alcohol, 17.5 g and 513 kJ (122.5 kcal). Wine and beer contain a similar amount of ethanol in servings of 150 and 350 mL (5 and 12 US fl oz), respectively, but these beverages also contribute to food energy intake from components other than ethanol. A 150 mL (5 US fl oz) serving of wine contains 420 to 540 kJ (100 to 130 kcal). A 350 mL (12 US fl oz) serving of beer contains 400 to 840 kJ (95 to 200 kcal). According to
793-643: 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. Male Onthophagus taurus beetles can pull 1,141 times their own body weight: the equivalent of an average person pulling six double-decker buses full of people. A species of dung beetle (the African Scarabaeus zambesianus ) navigates by polarization patterns in moonlight ,
854-465: A variety of dung beetle species have been used therapeutically (and are still being used in traditionally living societies) in potions and folk medicines to treat a number of illnesses and disorders. In Isan, Northeastern Thailand, the local people eat many different kinds of insects, including the dung beetle. There is an Isan song กุดจี่หายไปใหน "Where Did the Dung Beetle Go", which relates
915-445: Is a component of Vitamin B 12 which is essential. There are other minerals which are essential for some plants and animals, but may or may not be essential for humans, such as boron and silicon . Choline is an essential nutrient. The cholines are a family of water-soluble quaternary ammonium compounds . Choline is the parent compound of the cholines class, consisting of ethanolamine having three methyl substituents attached to
976-559: Is a deficiency. Deficiencies can be due to several causes, including an inadequacy in nutrient intake, called a dietary deficiency, or any of several conditions that interfere with the utilization of a nutrient within an organism. Some of the conditions that can interfere with nutrient utilization include problems with nutrient absorption, substances that cause a greater-than-normal need for a nutrient, conditions that cause nutrient destruction, and conditions that cause greater nutrient excretion. Nutrient toxicity occurs when excess consumption of
1037-795: Is a nutrient required for normal physiological function that cannot be synthesized in the body – either at all or in sufficient quantities – and thus must be obtained from a dietary source. Apart from water , which is universally required for the maintenance of homeostasis in mammals, essential nutrients are indispensable for various cellular metabolic processes and for the maintenance and function of tissues and organs. The nutrients considered essential for humans comprise nine amino acids, two fatty acids, thirteen vitamins , fifteen minerals and choline . In addition, there are several molecules that are considered conditionally essential nutrients since they are indispensable in certain developmental and pathological states. An essential amino acid
1098-597: Is addressed by requirements set for protein, which is composed of nitrogen-containing amino acids. Sulfur is essential, but again does not have a recommended intake. Instead, recommended intakes are identified for the sulfur-containing amino acids methionine and cysteine . The essential nutrient trace elements for humans, listed in order of Recommended Dietary Allowance (expressed as a mass), are potassium , chloride , sodium , calcium , phosphorus , magnesium , iron , zinc , manganese , copper , iodine , chromium , molybdenum , and selenium . Additionally, cobalt
1159-469: Is an amino acid that is required by an organism but cannot be synthesized de novo by it, and therefore must be supplied in its diet. Out of the twenty standard protein-producing amino acids, nine cannot be endogenously synthesized by humans: phenylalanine , valine , threonine , tryptophan , methionine , leucine , isoleucine , lysine , and histidine . Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are fatty acids that humans and other animals must ingest because
1220-500: Is conditional, as people who get sufficient exposure to ultraviolet light, either from the sun or an artificial source, synthesize vitamin D in the skin. Minerals are the exogenous chemical elements indispensable for life. Although the four elements: carbon , hydrogen , oxygen , and nitrogen ( CHON ) are essential for life, they are so plentiful in food and drink that these are not considered nutrients and there are no recommended intakes for these as minerals. The need for nitrogen
1281-1045: Is essential to humans and some animal species but most other animals and many plants are able to synthesize it. Nutrients may be organic or inorganic: organic compounds include most compounds containing carbon, while all other chemicals are inorganic. Inorganic nutrients include nutrients such as iron , selenium , and zinc , while organic nutrients include, protein, fats, sugars and vitamins. A classification used primarily to describe nutrient needs of animals divides nutrients into macronutrients and micronutrients . Consumed in relatively large amounts ( grams or ounces ), macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats , proteins, water) are primarily used to generate energy or to incorporate into tissues for growth and repair. Micronutrients are needed in smaller amounts ( milligrams or micrograms ); they have subtle biochemical and physiological roles in cellular processes, like vascular functions or nerve conduction . Inadequate amounts of essential nutrients or diseases that interfere with absorption, result in
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#17327726441241342-646: Is not conclusive about its effect on native species in natural environments and further monitoring is required. The Mediterranean dung beetle ( Bubas bison ) has been used in conjunction with biochar stock fodder to reduce emissions of nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide , which are both greenhouse gases. The beetles work the biochar-enriched dung into the soil without the use of machines. Scientists in Canberra in 1965 discovered that Dung beetles (Scarabaeids), specifically Onthophagus australis Guérin-Méneville , improve plant yields using their dung. Japanese millet
1403-643: Is not sufficient information to set EARs and RDAs. PRI Population Reference Intake is European Union equivalent of RDA; higher for adults than for children, and may be even higher for women who are pregnant or lactating. For Thiamin and Niacin, the PRIs are expressed as amounts per megajoule (239 kilocalories) of food energy consumed. Upper Limit Tolerable upper intake levels. ND ULs have not been determined. NE EARs, PRIs or AIs have not yet been established or will not be (EU does not consider chromium an essential nutrient). Plant nutrients consist of more than
1464-562: Is one of the few known invertebrate animals that navigate and orient themselves using the Milky Way . The daily dung of one elephant can support 2,000,000 beetles. Dung beetles are not a single taxonomic group; dung feeding is found in a number of families of beetles, so the behaviour cannot be assumed to have evolved only once. Dung beetles live in many habitats , including desert, grasslands and savannas , farmlands , and native and planted forests . They are highly influenced by
1525-417: Is startled at the sight of the unpleasant creature, jumping to his feet so that the eggs are broken. Learning of the origin of their feud, Zeus attempts to mediate and, when his efforts to mediate fail, he changes the breeding season of the eagle to a time when the beetles are not above ground. Aristophanes alluded to Aesop's fable several times in his plays. In Peace , the hero rides up to Olympus to free
1586-521: Is ubiquitous in ancient Egyptian religious and funerary art . Excavations of ancient Egyptian sites have yielded images of the scarab in bone , ivory , stone, Egyptian faience , and precious metals, dating from the Sixth Dynasty and up to the period of Roman rule. They are generally small, bored to allow stringing on a necklace, and the base bears a brief inscription or cartouche . Some have been used as seals . Pharaohs sometimes commissioned
1647-523: Is very mummy-like. It has even been pointed out that the egg-bearing ball of dung is created in an underground chamber which is reached by a vertical shaft and horizontal passage curiously reminiscent of Old Kingdom mastaba tombs." In contrast to funerary contexts, some of ancient Egypt's neighbors adopted the scarab motif for seals of varying types. The best-known of these being Judean LMLK seals (8 of 21 designs contained scarab beetles), which were used exclusively to stamp impressions on storage jars during
1708-491: The Australian Dung Beetle Project (1965–1985) which, led by George Bornemissza , sought to introduce species of dung beetles from South Africa and Europe. The successful introduction of 23 species was made, most notably Digitonthophagus gazella and Euoniticellus intermedius , which has resulted in improvement of the quality and fertility of Australian cattle pastures, along with a reduction in
1769-488: The Iberian Peninsula , Thorectes lusitanicus , feeds on acorns. Dung beetles do not necessarily have 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
1830-578: The species belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea , most of them to the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles). As most species of Scarabaeinae feed exclusively on feces, that subfamily is often dubbed true dung beetles . There are dung-feeding beetles which belong to other families, such as the Geotrupidae (the earth-boring dung beetle ). The Scarabaeinae alone comprises more than 5,000 species. The nocturnal African dung beetle Scarabaeus satyrus
1891-464: The "transformation spells" of the Coffin Texts , which affirm that the soul of the deceased may transform ( xpr ) into a human being, a god, or a bird and reappear in the world of the living. One scholar comments on other traits of the scarab connected with the theme of death and rebirth: It may not have gone unnoticed that the pupa, whose wings and legs are encased at this stage of development,
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1952-516: The Beetle ", the eagle kills a hare that has asked for sanctuary with a beetle. The beetle then takes revenge by twice destroying the eagle's eggs. The eagle, in despair, flies up to Olympus and places her latest eggs in Zeus 's lap, beseeching the god to protect them. When the beetle finds out what the eagle has done, it stuffs itself with dung, goes straight up to Zeus and flies right into his face. Zeus
2013-501: The European Union (same concept as RDAs), followed by what three government organizations deem to be the safe upper intake. RDAs are set higher than EARs to cover people with higher-than-average needs. Adequate Intakes (AIs) are set when there is insufficient information to establish EARs and RDAs. Countries establish tolerable upper intake levels , also referred to as upper limits (ULs), based on amounts that cause adverse effects. Governments are slow to revise information of this nature. For
2074-970: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, based on NHANES 2013–2014 surveys, women ages 20 and up consume on average 6.8 grams of alcohol per day and men consume on average 15.5 grams per day. Ignoring the non-alcohol contribution of those beverages, the average ethanol contributions to daily food energy intake are 200 and 450 kJ (48 and 108 kcal), respectively. Alcoholic beverages are considered empty calorie foods because, while providing energy, they contribute no essential nutrients. By definition, phytochemicals include all nutritional and non-nutritional components of edible plants. Included as nutritional constituents are provitamin A carotenoids , whereas those without nutrient status are diverse polyphenols , flavonoids , resveratrol , and lignans that are present in numerous plant foods. Some phytochemical compounds are under preliminary research for their potential effects on human diseases and health. However,
2135-546: The U.S. values, except calcium and vitamin D, all data date from 1997 to 2004. * The daily recommended amounts of niacin and magnesium are higher than the tolerable upper limit because, for both nutrients, the ULs identify the amounts which will not increase risk of adverse effects when the nutrients are consumed as a serving of a dietary supplement. Magnesium supplementation above the UL may cause diarrhea. Supplementation with niacin above
2196-459: The UL may cause flushing of the face and a sensation of body warmth. Each country or regional regulatory agency decides on a safety margin below when symptoms may occur, so the ULs may differ based on source. EAR U.S. Estimated Average Requirements. RDA U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowances; higher for adults than for children, and may be even higher for women who are pregnant or lactating. AI U.S. Adequate Intake; AIs established when there
2257-836: The amino function. Healthy humans fed artificially composed diets that are deficient in choline develop fatty liver, liver damage, and muscle damage. Choline was not initially classified as essential because the human body can produce choline in small amounts through phosphatidylcholine metabolism. Conditionally essential nutrients are certain organic molecules that can normally be synthesized by an organism, but under certain conditions in insufficient quantities. In humans, such conditions include premature birth , limited nutrient intake, rapid growth, and certain disease states. Inositol , taurine , arginine , glutamine and nucleotides are classified as conditionally essential and are particularly important in neonatal diet and metabolism. Non-essential nutrients are substances within foods that can have
2318-679: The amount of any macronutrients and micronutrients present in the food in significant quantities. Nutrients in larger quantities than the body needs may have harmful effects. Edible plants also contain thousands of compounds generally called phytochemicals which have unknown effects on disease or health including a diverse class with non-nutrient status called polyphenols which remain poorly understood as of 2024. Macronutrients are defined in several ways. Macronutrients provide energy: Micronutrients are essential dietary elements required in varying quantities throughout life to serve metabolic and physiological functions . An essential nutrient
2379-1006: The body requires them for good health but cannot synthesize them. Only two fatty acids are known to be essential for humans: alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid ) and linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid ). Vitamins occur in a variety of related forms known as vitamers . The vitamers of a given vitamin perform the functions of that vitamin and prevent symptoms of deficiency of that vitamin. Vitamins are those essential organic molecules that are not classified as amino acids or fatty acids. They commonly function as enzymatic cofactors , metabolic regulators or antioxidants . Humans require thirteen vitamins in their diet, most of which are actually groups of related molecules (e.g. vitamin E includes tocopherols and tocotrienols ): vitamins A, C, D, E, K, thiamine (B 1 ), riboflavin (B 2 ), niacin (B 3 ), pantothenic acid (B 5 ), pyridoxine (B 6 ), biotin (B 7 ), folate (B 9 ), and cobalamin (B 12 ). The requirement for vitamin D
2440-465: The chest of the deceased. Perhaps the most famous example of such "heart scarabs" is the yellow-green pectoral scarab found among the entombed provisions of Tutankhamen . It was carved from a large piece of Libyan desert glass . The purpose of the "heart scarab" was to ensure that the heart would not bear witness against the deceased at judgement in the Afterlife. Other possibilities are suggested by
2501-410: The dung ball during the rolling process. Usually it is the male that rolls the ball, while the female hitch-hikes or simply follows behind. In some cases, the male and the female roll together. When a spot with soft soil is found, they stop and bury the ball, then mate underground. After the mating, one or both of them prepares the brooding ball. When the ball is finished, the female lays eggs inside it,
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2562-508: The dung was mixed well into the soil in the pots. Results showed that dung beetle activity greatly improved plant life. The dung has little impact alone, but in combination with the dung beetle, the nutritional value for the plants increases greatly. This suggests that dung beetles have many positive implications for the environment, including a beneficial role with plant life. Some dung beetles are used as food in South East Asia and
2623-614: The dung which, if left, could provide habitat for pests such as flies . Therefore, many countries have introduced the creatures for the benefit of animal husbandry . The American Institute of Biological Sciences reports that dung beetles save the United States cattle industry an estimated US$ 380 million annually through burying above-ground livestock feces. In Australia, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) commissioned
2684-600: The environmental context, and do not prefer extremely cold or dry weather. They are found on all continents except Antarctica . They eat the dung of herbivores and omnivores , and prefer that produced by the latter. Many of them also feed on mushrooms and decaying leaves and fruits . The Neotropical Deltochilum valgum , D. kolbei and D. viridescens are carnivores with a strong preference for preying upon millipedes . Two other species from Brazil, Canthon dives and Canthon virens , prey on queens and other winged forms of leafcutter ants . One species from
2745-533: The first animal known to do so. Dung beetles can also navigate when only the Milky Way or clusters of bright stars are visible, making them the only insects known to orient themselves by the Milky Way. Research using 1 kg bolus of elephant dung found that a larger number exploit it during the night (13,700) than during the day (3,330). The eyes of dung beetles are superposition compound eyes typical of many scarabaeid beetles; The sequence of images shows
2806-655: The former subgenera of Onthophagus (including Proagoderus , Diastellopalpus , Digitonthophagus , and Euonthophagus ) are now widely recognized as genera. These subgenera are in accordance with the Catalog of Life and the World Scarabaeidae Database (2023). Dung beetle Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces . Some species of dung beetles can bury dung 250 times their own mass in one night. Many dung beetles, known as rollers , roll dung into round balls, which are used as
2867-517: The goddess Peace from her prison. His steed is an enormous dung beetle which has been fed so much dung that it has grown to monstrous size. Hans Christian Andersen 's "The Dung Beetle" tells the story of a dung beetle who lives in the stable of the king's horses in an imaginary kingdom. When he demands golden shoes like those the king's horse wears and is refused, he flies away and has a series of adventures, which are often precipitated by his feeling of superiority to other animals. He finally returns to
2928-433: The image of the beetle to represent a triliteral phonetic that Egyptologists transliterate as xpr or ḫpr and translate as "to come into being", "to become" or "to transform". The derivative term xprw or ḫpr(w) is variously translated as "form", "transformation", "happening", "mode of being" or "what has come into being", depending on the context. It may have existential, fictional, or ontologic significance. The scarab
2989-618: The late 19th century. For example, Fabre corrected the myth that a dung beetle would seek aid from other dung beetles when confronted by obstacles. By observation and experiment, he found the seeming helpers were in fact awaiting an opportunity to steal the roller's food source. They are widely used in ecological research as a good bioindicator group to examine the impacts of climate disturbances, such as extreme droughts and associated fires, and human activities on tropical biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, such as seed dispersal, soil bioturbation and nutrient cycling . Dung beetles play
3050-418: The males eject their sperm into a round pellet of material which they roll up by pushing it from the opposite side, just as the sun seems to turn the heavens in the direction opposite to its own course, which is from west to east. The ancient Egyptians believed that Khepri renewed the sun every day before rolling it above the horizon, then carried it through the other world after sunset, only to renew it, again,
3111-567: The manufacture of larger images with lengthy inscriptions, such as the commemorative scarab of Queen Tiye . Massive sculptures of scarabs can be seen at Luxor Temple , at the Serapeum in Alexandria (see Serapis ) and elsewhere in Egypt. The scarab was of prime significance in the funerary cult of ancient Egypt. Scarabs, generally, though not always, were cut from green stone, and placed on
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#17327726441243172-417: The next day. Some New Kingdom royal tombs exhibit a threefold image of the sun god, with the beetle as symbol of the morning sun. The astronomical ceiling in the tomb of Ramses VI portrays the nightly "death" and "rebirth" of the sun as being swallowed by Nut , goddess of the sky, and re-emerging from her womb as Khepri. The image of the scarab, conveying ideas of transformation, renewal, and resurrection,
3233-578: The population of pestilent Australian bush flies by around 90%. In 1995 it was reported that dung beetles were being trialled in the Sydney beach suburb of Curl Curl to deal with dog droppings. An application made by Landcare Research to import up to 11 species of dung beetle into New Zealand was approved in 2011. As well as improving pasture soils the Dung Beetle Release Strategy Group said that it would result in
3294-701: The process of releasing energy such as for carbohydrates , lipids , proteins and fermentation products ( ethanol or vinegar ) leading to end-products of water and carbon dioxide . All organisms require water. Essential nutrients for animals are the energy sources, some of the amino acids that are combined to create proteins , a subset of fatty acids , vitamins and certain minerals . Plants require more diverse minerals absorbed through roots, plus carbon dioxide and oxygen absorbed through leaves. Fungi live on dead or living organic matter and meet nutrient needs from their host. Different types of organisms have different essential nutrients. Ascorbic acid ( vitamin C )
3355-405: The qualification for nutrient status of compounds with poorly defined properties in vivo is that they must first be defined with a Dietary Reference Intake level to enable accurate food labeling, a condition not established for most phytochemicals that are claimed to provide antioxidant benefits. See Vitamin , Mineral (nutrient) , Protein (nutrient) An inadequate amount of a nutrient
3416-411: The reign of Hezekiah . The scarab remains an item of popular interest thanks to modern fascination with the art and beliefs of ancient Egypt. Scarab beads in semiprecious stones or glazed ceramics can be purchased at most bead shops, while at Luxor Temple a massive ancient scarab has been roped off to discourage visitors from rubbing the base of the statue "for luck". In Aesop's fable " The Eagle and
3477-431: The replacement of water buffalo with the "metal" buffalo, which does not provide the dung needed for the dung beetle and has led to the increasing rarity of the dung beetle in the agricultural region. Several species of the dung beetle, most notably the species Scarabaeus sacer (often referred to as the sacred scarab ), enjoyed a sacred status among the ancient Egyptians . Egyptian hieroglyphic script uses
3538-719: The stable having decided (against all logic) that it is for him that the king's horse wears golden shoes. In Franz Kafka 's The Metamorphosis , the transformed character of Gregor Samsa is called an "old dung beetle" ( alter Mistkäfer ) by a charwoman . Nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals , plants , fungi and protists . Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excreted by cells to create non-cellular structures such as hair , scales , feathers , or exoskeletons . Some nutrients can be metabolically converted into smaller molecules in
3599-477: Was introduced in several locations in North and South America and has been spreading its distribution to other regions by natural dispersal and accidental transportation, and is now probably naturalized in most countries between México and Argentina . The exotic species might be useful for controlling diseases of livestock in commercial areas, and might displace native species in modified landscapes; however, data
3660-436: Was linked to Khepri ("he who has come into being"), the god of the rising sun . The ancients believed that the dung beetle was only male-sexed, and reproduced by depositing semen into a dung ball. The supposed self-creation of the beetle resembles that of Khepri, who creates himself out of nothing. Moreover, the dung ball rolled by a dung beetle resembles the sun. Plutarch wrote: The race of beetles has no female, but all
3721-408: Was studied and data on nutrient uptake. These plants were placed in pots lacking nitrogen , phosphorus , and sulfur . Cow-dung was then added in treatment groups with or without O. australis. Some treatment groups even had two out of the three nutrients supplemented in the pots. Comparisons of the treatment and control groups were made to show that top growth and roots significantly increased when
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