Imported dung beetles are being eaten alive by Aussie fungus species

June 7th, 2023

The Land Australia, Other, 05/06/2023, Libby-Jane Charleston
According to CSIRO, the local fungi might be the reason why some of the imported dung beetle species have failed to establish here. CSIRO has been studying and using imported dung beetles since the 1960s to reduce the ecological damage caused by the arrival of cows and sheep with the First Fleet in 1788. Beauveria are related to the Cordyceps fungi popularised in post-apocalyptic TV series “The Last of Us Their spores infect insect hosts, spread through their bodies and eventually kill them.