As can be expected, dung beetles are found in or near the dung of various animals. Utilization of dung varies between species.The females of some species roll a ball of dung which has been cut from the pat by means of the shovel-like front part of the head and then shaped and compacted into a ball using the stout front legs.
The ball is rolled away from the dung mass and then buried, either to be eaten by the adult or stored as food for the larva, which hatches out from a single egg laid in the dung.
Other species excavate a chamber immediately below the dung pat, pack it with dung and lay several eggs in it.
Eggs are normally laid in special cells or hollows constructed in the dung. The feeding activities of the larvae eventually produce larger hollow dry shells in which they pupate.
Some of the larger dung beetles (Heliocopris) pack a layer of clay around the dung ball to protect the food source of their prospective larvae. These clay balls can reach the size of a cricket ball and are almost indestructable.
