50 words for Shit. Dung: The coral reefs of the Moor.
- jonchinn
- Oct 6
- 5 min read
When I first moved to Cornwall over 20 years ago, I asked one of the students at school.
“Do you go out on the Moor much?”
The response a knowing look
“No. It’s just Rocks and shit”.
Werner Hertzog, when speaking of the filming of “Fitzcarraldo” said that the Amazon rainforest was a place of misery and incalculable mass murder. Here on the moor, I am surrounded by shit and death.
The Innuit have 50 words for snow to describe the important snow detail that affects their daily life. This is referenced by Kate Bush on her album 50 words for snow. I don't know if its true or not. On Bodmin moor, there are 50 words for Shit and all of them are pronounced the same way.
“Shit”.
Here are some statistics. Under normal dietary conditions:
Cows can produce 6% of body weight in dung daily. 9 tons a year.
Sheep can produce 4% of body weight daily. 800kg a year.
Horses 3-5% of body weight daily. 6.5 tons a year.
Bodmin moor is an impoverished deflected ecosystem. This is because of altitude, the actions of humanity through climate change, deforestation, domesticated animals and mining.
These factors make the diet for sheep, cows and horses relatively nutritionally poor. The animals must eat vast amounts to gain sufficient nutrition. Consequently, they fire out massive amounts of poo. The size of some of the individual outpourings are quite extraordinary. I have never seen a Blue Whale or Diplodocus in the area: It must be the horses, cows and sheep.
The numbers and variety of livestock mean the ratio of poo cover to land area is a substantial proportion of the pat chart. That’s a lot of poo in a relatively small area.
The horses have turned defecating into an art form. I once saw a huge pile balanced with precision on top of a 1-metre-high granite post in a car part at Minions. Nothing else to do I suppose.
Altitude and quantity combine to prolong poo breakdown. Like old friends, it is possible to track the progress of individual piles over a longer period than you may think.
I started to wonder what the impact of weather events, higher mean temperatures, higher focused rainfall and parasite drug management of livestock was having on the poo community on the moor. The consumers and lifestyle dwellers.
I studied parasitology in my final year of degree, and that’s why I like well-done meat and always wear long sleeves/ trousers on the moor (that and being getting sun burnt in the presence of a strong light bulb).
These insects perform a critical role in providing ecosystem services. The recycling of dung from the surface back into the soil and kick starting the process of pasture ecology soil health (To be fair, bronze age deforestation, grazing and high rainfall makes upland moor to pasture regeneration pretty much impossible in the current climate, but it does improve a bit). Reducing parasite burdens in livestock (by rapid removal of transmission sites)
by lowering the costs of maintenance of land via dung removal. It’s a vital dirty job but somebody must do it.
I wondered what the impact of parasite drug management of livestock was having on the poo munching community on the moor. Parasiticides in dung can slow dung degradation due to harmful effects on dung insects. At high parasiticide levels, larvae and adult insects can be killed or paralysed. At lower levels, insect metamorphosis can be inhibited, and behaviour altered, resulting in decreased adult emergence and significant morphological abnormalities with the associated impacts on breeding success, dispersal and functioning. T These drugs are in 3 catagories. Endectocides: a drug that is effective against both endoparasites( internal parasites like worms) and ectoparasites (external parasites like fleas, mites, and ticks). Anthelmintic drugs (Endoparasiticides) wormers, such as fenbendazole, levamisole and Ectoparasiticides such as Deltamethrin.
There are 40 native species of Dung beetle in the UK. They fit into two broad life style categories.
Tunnellers: Dig tunnels under dung to bury it and create brood chambers for their larvae.
( Sub group Stealers: Don't collect their own dung stores but steal from other beetles).
All members of the Geotrupidae excavate vertical burrows in which the eggs are laid, earning them the common name of earth boring dung beetles. They are also referred to as Dor beetles.
Many species produce a noise by rubbing the upper section of the hind legs together, this is called stridulation, and it is used in mating communication or sometimes as a defence mechanism. I’ve often spent a half an hour sat in reflection by a cow pat being sound bathed by the relaxing “chirp” of a stridulating Dung beetle. Try it. With a torch at night because Geotrupidae beetles are often attracted to light during the hours of darkness.
Dwellers: Live and breed within the dung itself.
Most Scarabaeidae/ sub family Aphodiines spend their entire lives in dung. There are around 40 distinct specie. If you open some cow poo, and see larvae curled up it will be Aphodiines. Now wash your hands.
These are the most difficult of dung beetles to identify They range in size from Approx. 3-13mm in length
Some species live partly in Geotrupidae burrows which I suppose constitutes stealing.
Several species can be present in the same dung pile but preferences for dung type, dung age, soil type, and level of sun exposure exist. Cow pats the coral reef of the moor then.
Despite their sterling work and essential role. Dung beetles are in decline because of changed farming practices and land management livestock overwintering inside in some areas and the drugs used in parasite management.
A Natural England review showed that many of our dung beetle species were in serious trouble, with almost 50% categorised as nationally scarce or threatened to some degree.
What else hangs around poo ?
The very common Yellow dung fly (Scathophaga stercoraria).
Males, yellow and furry, base themselves on poo. Waiting for the smaller green, and less furry, females. The females hang around hunting in vegetation. Seems sensible.
The yellow dung fly is a beneficial insect. Its larvae eat poo and the adult is a very effect predator of other insects. They also eat nectar which means that they can be pollinators too.
Females are selective about ovipostioning, egg laying, she selects small ‘hills’ on the dung’s surface, avoiding hollows and sharper pointed areas. This strategy is aimed at preventing desiccation and drowning. Eggs hatch into larvae after 1-2 days. Larvae burrow quickly into the dung for their protection and proceed to feed on it; they also predate on other insect larvae also living in the dung. After 10-20 days the larvae burrow into the soil around and beneath the dung where they pupate.
Yellow dung flies are also affected by the drugs used for parasite management.
The mushroom Panaeolus semiovatus, the egghead mottlegill, is found on dung.
Cow pats the coral reef of the moor then.
Further reading and sources to digest;
‘Insects of the British cow-dung community’ by Peter Skidmore, ( you couldn’t make it up) an undercover exposé.
Hornet robberfly Scientific name: Asilus crabroniformis
* Reducing the Impact of Livestock Parasite Control Products on Dung Beetles and Other Beneficial Insects in Wales By James Byrne – Wildlife Trusts Wales / Dung Beetle Trust Dr Sarah Beynon FRES – The Bug Farm Dr Claire Whittle BVSc MRCVS & Dr Rob Howe BVSc MRCVS - LLM Farm Vets and Dung Beetles for Farmers / Dung Beetle Trust July 2024
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