Imagine a world where animal dung stayed forever just as it was when it hit the ground! Nature wastes nothing, however, and fungi get to work on this material breaking it down and so too do species of beetles, the so called dung beetles or scarabs; Aphodius rufipes is one such creature. Mainly nocturnal and spending much time under ground this beetle is rarely seen although is apparently quite common. It is attracted to light and sometimes turns up in my moth trap.
This beetle is just under an inch long and its wing cases (elytra) are anything from dark red to black but the legs are usually red and that makes this species distinctive when compared to other similar beetles.
This little chap goes about its work unnoticed but we should be eternally grateful for it and its cousins for doing a vital task.
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