The wonderful world of the beetle on Fresh Air

Mark Frauenfelder 8:31 am Wed May 6, 2009

Oxysternon-Conspicillatum

(An Oxysternon conspicillatum, a kind of scarab beetle. Photo by D. EMlen and J. M. Rowland)

Douglas Emlen, a professor of biology at the University of Montana, is one of the foremost authorities on dung beetles. Terry Gross interviewed him earlier this week on Fresh Air, and it's a terrific, fascinating interview. Emlen's passion and curiosity about dung beetle anatomy and behavior shine through.

Underneath the cow patties in the pasture — and the monkey dung in the jungle — there is a miniature world of sex and violence.

Here, ornately decorated beetles armed with horns fight for survival and sexual dominance. Douglas Emlen, a professor of biology at the University of Montana, studies them.

Emlen is an expert on the evolution and development of bizarre or extreme shapes in insects, and he is particularly interested in insect weaponry.

Much of his work takes place in a lab, but he has also had some wild adventures collecting different families of dung beetles from around the world.

The Fascinating World Of The Dung Beetle

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