Spring active dung beetles

During the spring of 2019, Cradle Coast Authority Natural Resource Management (NRM) team became involved in supporting the Dung Beetle Ecosystem Engineers (DBEE) project.

With a portion of O. vacca’s lifecycle occurring in summer, irrigated or higher rainfall cattle grazing properties were one such criteria. Irrigated dairy farms in Tasmania play a crucial role in survival of dung beetles which are active in the warmer months, essentially This national project has the goal of providing a stronghold for them by introducing new species of dung beetles across southern Australia, to provide dung beetle activity year-round for grazing systems. Tunnelling dung beetles provide a range of maintaining a level of soil moisture. Organic or lower input grazing enterprises were another desired element, providing a higher likelihood of dung beetle survival. benefits to livestock producers as well as the environment. One gap in dung beetle activity in Tasmania is spring, and so in 2019 nursery Onthophagus vacca colonies of , a spring active species of dung beetle, were established in 21 locations across southern Australia. Cradle Coast Authority provided support in setting up and caring for the nursery colony in our region, as well as collecting data on the reproductive rate of this species in Tasmania. So far we can say with confidence that O. The result was a 6-fold increase in the first vacca can increase its population by at least generation of O. vacca Tasmania, a great result. beetles bred in 6-fold each generation in the temperate climate of north-west Tasmania, and that to date six nursery colonies have been Following this early success from the first field site near Burnie, the next phase was to spread established on farms by the Cradle Coast Authority. When more beetles are available to distribute, the intention is to build on this and O. vacca nursery colonies across additional set up more colonies each year across grazing grazing districts. Survival of the first couple of districts and get more of these useful beetles generations of a new species such as this is working for farmers. crucial to ensure establishment and proliferation, so aspects of site selection for new nursery colonies had to be carefully considered.

New colonies of dung beetles at Red Cow Organics

After much consideration, a second nursery colony was established during the 2019-20 summer on a commercial farm near Burnie. A further four nursery colonies were set up during the spring of 2020 on organic and lower input dairy and beef farms.

Two of the four newer colonies were established at Oldina, one at Mawbanna, and one at Cressy.

This project is supported by Cradle Coast Authority, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.