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Dung Beetles Navigate by Polarized Moonlight

By Korey Haynes
Feb 8, 2019 8:00 PMMay 21, 2019 6:00 PM
dung beetle naviation
Dung beetles can navigate using polarized light, but only nocturnal dung beetles can use the dim light of a crescent moon. (Credit: Michael Potter11/shutterstock)

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Like humans throughout history, it turns out that dung beetles are celestial navigators. Steering is important to dung beetles. When a choice load drops, they want to grab their ball and roll away in as straight a line as they can manage. In this sense, they’re not so much navigating (which implies a destination), but they are orienting themselves by the skies.

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