dung beetle
noun
: a beetle (such as a tumblebug) that rolls balls of dung in which to lay eggs and on which the larvae feed
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web My papa’s house furled and unfurled, high as a church steeple in some parts, and low as a dung beetle in others. 
Okwiri Oduor, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 Certain dung beetle females have even evolved horns that may be used for battling with other females in contests over access to males. Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 2 Aug. 2021 Through a dung beetle’s compound eyes, stars appear as blobs, not as points of light. New York Times, 29 July 2021 Rosie Drinkwater, a molecular biologist and postdoc at Queen Mary University of London, decided to test another widespread connoisseur of DNA-rich body material, the dung beetle. Michael Price, Science | AAAS, 19 Feb. 2021 In one entry, a dung beetle climbs out of a dead man’s mouth; a jellyfish floats between buildings in another. Tim Diovanni, Dallas News, 23 July 2020 For the nocturnal African dung beetle Scarabaeus satyrus, this becomes a useful reference point. Fiona Mcmillan, National Geographic, 4 Nov. 2019 By limiting pesticides, natural biological systems that include dung beetles, earth worms and micro-organisms help rejuvenate soil health. David Mckenzie, CNN, 6 Mar. 2020 When there are lots of species of dung beetles around, and faeces vanish quickly, an ecosystem is assumed to be in good shape. The Economist, 11 Jan. 2020 See More
Okwiri Oduor, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 Certain dung beetle females have even evolved horns that may be used for battling with other females in contests over access to males. Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 2 Aug. 2021 Through a dung beetle’s compound eyes, stars appear as blobs, not as points of light. New York Times, 29 July 2021 Rosie Drinkwater, a molecular biologist and postdoc at Queen Mary University of London, decided to test another widespread connoisseur of DNA-rich body material, the dung beetle. Michael Price, Science | AAAS, 19 Feb. 2021 In one entry, a dung beetle climbs out of a dead man’s mouth; a jellyfish floats between buildings in another. Tim Diovanni, Dallas News, 23 July 2020 For the nocturnal African dung beetle Scarabaeus satyrus, this becomes a useful reference point. Fiona Mcmillan, National Geographic, 4 Nov. 2019 By limiting pesticides, natural biological systems that include dung beetles, earth worms and micro-organisms help rejuvenate soil health. David Mckenzie, CNN, 6 Mar. 2020 When there are lots of species of dung beetles around, and faeces vanish quickly, an ecosystem is assumed to be in good shape. The Economist, 11 Jan. 2020 See More Word History
First Known Use
circa 1634, in the meaning defined above