The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle (Circellium bacchus)

The Amazing Invertebrate Addo Beetle

Dung Beetles all over the South African mainland perform vital cleaning up jobs, even if these tiny creatures do not realise it. Dung Beetles are also a joy to watch and their amazing antics make a good addition to any South African holiday.

There is a very special specie of this insect that occurs in the Addo Elephant National Park. This invertebrate is known as the Addo Flightless Dung Beetle. This beetle is a member of the families Bolboceratidae and Scarabaeidae, which incorporates many different South African beetle species and other similar South African insects. The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle cannot fly (Hence the name) and is quite common within it's very restricted distribution and range. This dung beetle is most common in the main game area of the Addo Elephant National Park and this insect also occurs in the rest of the Greater Addo National Park. Listed below is some more general information on the one and only Addo Flightless Dung Beetle...

How To Identify The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle?

The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle is a very large, metallic black coloured insect with a body length of about 30 mm and 50 mm. This Addo insect has a shiny globular rounded outline and a large pronotum and abdomen.

Addo Flightless Dung Beetle Biology:

The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle adults gather at African Elephant dung for feeding and at Cape Buffalo dung for feeding and breeding. These remarkable insects then shape the dung into large round balls, which are then rolled away to be buried. The dung beetles only have one nesting sequence a year and in this time period they produce only one young beetle. Their conservation status is vulnerable as they depend on 2 large herbivores for survival: Elephant and Buffalo.

Other Interesting Information On The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle:

The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle only occurs in the Eastern Cape Province in a small patch, however it is fairly common within it's range. This terrestrial invertebrate occurs in habitats such as... Fish River scrub and Spekboomveld. They often congregate in 100's in the Addo Elephant National Park, this is the best place to see these special beetles.

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