the dung beetle was introduced to australia on 30 january 1968.
the dung beetle was introduced to australia on 30 january 1968.
when was the dung beetle introduced to australia?
30 january 1968
the queensland dung beetle project used pitfall traps at sites across queensland to trap dung beetles, which were then identified and recorded. out of the 29 species that were introduced to queensland during the australian dung beetle project of 1965-1985, 15 of these were recaptured in 2001-2002. the most abundant and widely distributed of these were "onthophagus gazella" and "euoniticellus intermedius". some species, including "copris diversus" and "onitis westermanni", which had been released during the original csiro project, were not recovered at all in the queensland dung beetle project, suggesting that they have not become established. others, for example "onthophagus obliquus" and "sisyphus infuscatus" have been recovered since their original release but were also not found during this study. the project identified three species, namely "onitis caffer", "copris elphenor", and "onitis vanderkelleni" as candidates for redistribution to other areas of queensland. these were chosen because, although they were not widely distributed across queensland, they successfully established in the areas where they were found and had desirably rapid dung-burying capabilities.
australian dung beetle project
the funding for the australian dung beetle project was withdrawn in 1985 after the restructuring of the australian meat research committee, but bornemissza believed that the full potential of the project had yet to be realised. he said, ""the introduction of exotic dung beetles and their subsequent establishment in australia is now history, and a very successful one at that. however, it fell short in filling all the climatic areas with their vast variety of habitats"". this last statement was made in a report by penny edwards in 2007, which summarised investigations made by landcare australia to evaluate the distribution and abundance of introduced species of dung beetle across australia. the investigation found that 23 of the 43 species of dung beetle introduced by bornemissza and his team were still established and thriving all over australia, and it recommended that further research be carried out in order to fill the empty ecological niches with new species of introduced dung beetle. bornemissza’s work is credited with being the reason why australians today can enjoy a terrace café culture, since the success of the project in reducing the number of bush flies by 90% has meant that outside dining is no longer illegal, as it once was in the 1950s. the "australian salute", a flick of the hand recognised by older generations of australians as the only solution to rid oneself of flies at that time, is now a dwindling gesture. the australian dung beetle project is also said to have affected soil, water and pasture health that is ""undoubtedly worth many millions of dollars a year"".
george bornemissza