Dung Beetles: Getting to the Bottom of Healthy Pastures

What are dung beetles & what do they do for us? We don’t generally think of what happens to the dung in our fields or if our native dung beetle populations are thriving. But what if we lost these insects and the ecosystem functions they perform? Join us for a informative workshop to learn what dung beetles do for us and what we can do for them...

About the Event

Just how important are dung beetles in our livestock systems and what are they doing beyond removing dung? We generally don’t think of the tiny insect communities based around the dung piles in our fields and these include our native dung beetles. But what if we loose these beetles? What effect would it have on our livestock, pastures, soil and farm biodiversity? By gaining an understanding of dung beetles we can implement small changes in our management decisions that could have much wider benefits for biodiversity in general, the environment & livestock health including sustainable parasite plans to minimise chemical dependence.

We'll begin the day by introducing our native dung beetles with a presentation and a selection of specimens. The presentation will highlight the ecosystem functions of these economically important pastoral insects, their ecology, their threats and the potential practical changes in management required for their conservation.

After the presentation there will be a practical session enabling the opportunity for a dung dive out in the field. This will demonstrate how to identify and monitor the dung beetle populations by a simple surveying methodology enabling you to try for yourself on your own farm.

Also check out other Workshops in Horsley, Health & Wellness events in Horsley.