Reproduction of a dung beetle, Onthophagus gazella, fed with frozen dung of pastured cattle

Abstract

Some reproductive characteristics of O. gazella, which fed on pastured cattle dung in the laboratory, were analysed in relation to a freezing-thawing treatment and the season in which the dung was collected. Short-term freezing of dung did not affect the mean number of beetles emerging. The mean number of beetles emerged, the emergence rate and the size of beetle progeny were all satisfactory when beetles fed on frozen-thawed dung sampled during June and August. The dung sampled in November, with which the least number of progeny was produced, contained less crude protein, crude fat and water, but contained more organic cell walls. The crude chemical composition of dung sampled in other months, however, did not show a significant difference from each other. These findings might aid in the maintenance and mass-rearing of the beetle in the laboratory in midwinter, when cattle dung is not available in pastures.