The beetle that navigates by the Milky Way galaxy
This beetle steers using the Milky Way galaxy while rolling a giant ball of poop in a straight line.
The short version
The dung beetle is the only animal proven to navigate by the stars, locking onto the band of the Milky Way to roll its dung ball in a straight line. Scientists proved it with tiny blinding hats. It's also one of the strongest animals, pulling over 1,000 times its body weight.
Why it's so weird
- ✓The Dung Beetle navigates by the Milky Way, the only animal ever proven to steer by the stars.
- ✓The Dung Beetle climbs on top of its dung ball and does a little spin to scan the sky and lock onto a straight heading.
- ✓The Dung Beetle can pull over a thousand times its own body weight, ranking among the strongest animals alive.
- ✓The Dung Beetle rolls its ball away in a perfectly straight line so rival beetles can't simply steal it.
The full story
This little beetle steers using the Milky Way galaxy, all while rolling a giant ball of poop. Meet the dung beetle, the only animal ever proven to navigate by the stars. After it sculpts a fresh ball of dung, it needs to roll it away in a perfectly straight line, or rival beetles will simply steal it. The problem is that the ground all looks the same. So the beetle climbs on top of its ball, does a little spin to scan the sky, and locks onto the glowing band of the Milky Way to hold a straight heading. Scientists proved this by fitting tiny hats on the beetles to block their view, and the blinded ones just wandered helplessly in circles. It is also one of the strongest animals alive, able to pull over a thousand times its own body weight. A dung-rolling, star-reading powerhouse. Follow for more weird animal facts.
Watch the 45-second version
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