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Dung Beetle questions


Dubia4life

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Hey everyone! I have some questions so I can prepare early before spring/summer arrive.

 

I live in Arkansas but I am sadly in a urban environment so I'm assuming I won't have much luck with finding much of anything. I recently purchased a copy of The Ultimate Guide and have been reading through the dung beetle chapter, (thank you Orin and to everyone who gave a helping hand with this book!)

 

I am most interested in dung beetles atm, therefore I am going to set most of my efforts to capturing and studying WC specimens of Phanaeus, but any dung beetles will do tbh. I need as much info that you can give on finding, capturing and keeping these humble little creatures! Thanks in advance!

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Pitfall traps should work. Get a container with smooth sides, dig a hole the size of that container in a likely spot, and pack soil gently around the edges so that the beetles can easily go inside. Prop something like a stone or slab of wood over the top, propped up about an inch, to keep water and larger pests out, then bait appropriately. Works on everything that crawls on the ground and can't climb your chosen container, depending on what you put in for bait. Clearly, dung will work for dung beetles, preferably dung from herbivores. A pasture would be an ideal place to look for dung beetles- see if you can meet someone who keeps horses or cattle. Don't put the trap where something might step in it, but that should work.

Also, if you can find a pasture, take a shovel and flip dung until you find beetles.

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  • 7 months later...

Dubia4life,

Use a 2 or 3 liter soda bottle, cut the top off and invert it back into the bottle like a funnel. Bury this in the ground to where the top is even with the surface.

This part is called a "Barney bag" (not named after me): Use a ziplock bag and mash a small amount of bait near the bottom of the bag. Turn the bag over and place it on a stick directly over the opening of the pit-fall trap (just hang the upside down bag on the end of the stick, don't puncture the bag with the stick).


Good Luck,
Steven Barney
"The Complete Guide to Rearing the Rainbow Scarab"

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/1/2018 at 8:05 AM, Beetle-Experience said:

Dubia4life,

Use a 2 or 3 liter soda bottle, cut the top off and invert it back into the bottle like a funnel. Bury this in the ground to where the top is even with the surface.

This part is called a "Barney bag" (not named after me): Use a ziplock bag and mash a small amount of bait near the bottom of the bag. Turn the bag over and place it on a stick directly over the opening of the pit-fall trap (just hang the upside down bag on the end of the stick, don't puncture the bag with the stick).


Good Luck,
Steven Barney
"The Complete Guide to Rearing the Rainbow Scarab"

Thanks for this! I recently read about similar (possible the same) trapping methods in Orin's Ultimate Guide. Sounds very similar to a homemade minnow trap.

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