- 1.
Body temperatures of diurnal and nocturnal ball-rolling and non ballrolling dung beetles (in particular the genera Scarabaeus, Kheper, Gymnopleurus and Heliocopris) were studied in the field in Kenya.
- 2.
The beetles were conspicuously endothermic during flight, ball making, and ball rolling. When at rest, their body temperatures did not differ significantly from that of their surroundings. They did not always generate high body temperatures while walking. However, they sometimes warmed up prior to walking and subsequently maintained a large difference between body and ambient temperatures.
- 3.
The nocturnal species, S. laevistriatus, was conspicuously endothermic during ball making and ball rolling, often maintaining thoracic temperatures of 40 °C or more in an ambient temperature of 25–26 °C. In this species, the velocity of ball rolling increased linearly with body temperature from 5 cm/sec at 28 °C to 18 cm/sec at 40 °C.
- 4.
The take-off temperatures of dung beetles increased with body mass up to 2.5g. In beetles larger than 2.5g metathoracic temperatures at take-off ranged from 40 to 44 °CC and were independent of mass.
- 5.
Flight temperatures showed essentially the same pattern as take-off temperatures, increasing with mass up to about 42 °C at 2.5 g and being independent of mass thereafter.
- 6.
Both flight and take-off temperatures increased with wing-loading up to about 35 N/m2, but were independent of wing loading from 35 to 65 N/m2.
- 7.
In each of the species for which we had an adequate sample, wing loading increased linearly with body mass. Partial correlation analysis suggests that metathoracic temperature is more dependent on body mass than on wing-loading.
- 8.
During periods of endothermy, metathoracic temperature exceeded prothoracic temperature, and abdominal temperature was lower than that of either the prothorax or metathorax.
- 9.
Cooling rate was inversely related to body mass. The removal of elytra and wings caused the cooling rate to increase by about one-quarter.
- 10.
Elevated body temperatures in dung beetles during terrestrial activity is probably selectively advantageous in competition for food. A high metathoracic temperature is a necessary condition for take-off and flight in the larger species.
- 11.
Mechanisms of heat production and the evidence for thermoregulation are discussed.
Celebrating 100 years of discovery
We are proud to be celebrating 100 years of discovery in Journal of Experimental Biology. Visit our centenary webpage to find out more about how we are marking this historic milestone.
Craig Franklin launches our centenary celebrations
Editor-in-Chief Craig Franklin reflects on 100 years of JEB and looks forward to our centenary celebrations, including a supplementary special issue, a new early-career researcher interview series and the launch of our latest funding initiatives.
Looking back on the first issue of JEB
Journal of Experimental Biology launched in 1923 as The British Journal of Experimental Biology. As we celebrate our centenary, we look back at that first issue and the zoologists publishing their work in the new journal.
Webinar: Increasing the visibility and impact of your research
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Would you like to increase the visibility and impact of your research and raise your profile internationally? If so, register for the very practical webinar we are running in association with HUBS on 23 February 2023.
Biology Communication Workshop: Engaging the world in the excitement of research
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We are delighted to be sponsoring a Biology Communication Workshop for early-career researchers as part of JEB’s centenary celebrations. The workshop focuses on how to effectively communicate your science to other researchers and the public and takes place the day before the CSZ annual meeting, on 14 May 2023. Find out more and apply here.
Mexican fruit flies wave for distraction
Dinesh Rao and colleagues have discovered that Mexican fruit flies vanish in a blur in the eyes of predatory spiders when they wave their wings at the arachnids, buying the flies time to make their escape.
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