Influence of Adult Size of Onthophagus gazella1 on Manure Pat Degradation, Nest Construction, and Progeny Size

Brood ball size and weight, manure burial rate, and offspring size of Onthophagus gazella (F.) were demonstrated to increase as the size of the parent beetles increased. Adult size, in turn, reflected the quantity of provisions in the brood ball in which a beetle developed, regardless of the size of its parents. Also, under present experimental conditions, the sizes of the offspring from extremely large and small parents differed significantly from parental sizes, indicating a trend toward a medium size. The role of beetle size in dung ecology is discussed.