Researchers have discovered that dung beetles take photographs of the firmament to aid them in navigation when transporting balls of dung from one location to another. Their connection to the relative position of various celestial bodies has a lovely resonance with the ancient Egyptians — whose pantheon included Kheper-Ra, a beetle deity — belief in the sky being the abode of the divine. M.Phys.org posted a piece illustrated with video footage, which starts:
“The discovery that dung beetles use the light of the Milky Way to navigate in the world has received much praise. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now taken a new step in understanding the existence of these unique beetles: when the beetles dance on top of a ball of dung, they simultaneously take a photograph – a snapshot – of how celestial bodies are positioned.”
Read the entire piece here:
http://m.phys.org/news/2016-05-dung-beetles-firmament.html
Thanks to Hymenaeus Beta for the tip!
