The Forest Dung Beetle

Photo 81813905 © Stig Karlsson | Dreamstime.com

Anoplotrupes stercorosus, known as the forest dung or dor beetle is present throughout most of Europe¹. They prefer fresh areas of deciduous and coniferous forests, particularly beech and spruce forests, as well as fresh mixed forests and moist deciduous forests².  They have a black upper body with a distinct metallic blue or violet gleam, while their underside is metallic blue. Adults can grow up to 2 centimetres in size. Forest dung beetles play an important role in forest ecosystems. By recycling dung from the surface into the earth, they improve the hydrological and nutrient properties of soil. They also serve as secondary seed dispersers, increasing the likelihood that fruit trees will germinate in the future.

Anoplotrupes stercorosus is the most common species of dung beetle in Slovenia, where it is known as the gozdni govnač. It was a sacred animal according to the Old Believers who inhabited the Soča valley and surrounding regions³⁴. They called it bleščin (“glitter”) because of its metallic blue gleam. They believed “glitter” belonged to the sky and the moon, and that it was sent to Earth by the Great Mother to protect humans.

With its primordial forests and Emerald River, the “Glitter” beetle is abundant throughout the Kingdom of Juliana. Glitter beetles will adorn some of the illustrations in my fairy tale Anabell; will you be able to find them all?

Photo 29981201 © Tomatito26 | Dreamstime.com

  1. The common name dung or dor beetle is also used for a very similar species, Geotrupes stercorarius.

  2. Adam Byk & Piotr Semkiw, Habitat preferences of the forest dung beetle Anoplotrupes Stercorosus (Silv. Colendar. Rat. Ind. Lignar, 9, 3-4, 2010), 21.

  3. Pavel Medvešček, Iz nevidne strani neba (Ljubljana: ZRC-SAZU, 2015), 243.

  4. I believe Pavel Medvešček (2015) incorrectly attributes the scientific name Geotrupes sylvaticus to the gozdni govnač. The navadni govnač (Geotrupes sylvaticus) is a rare species in Slovenia found only in the far north of the country. On the other hand, the gozdni govnač (Anoplotrupes stercorosus), which is a very similar species, is the most common and can be found throughout most of Slovenia.