Like humans throughout history, it turns out that dung beetles are celestial navigators. Steering is important to dung beetles. When a choice load drops, they want to grab their ball and roll away in as straight a line as they can manage. In this sense, they’re not so much navigating (which implies a destination), but they are orienting themselves by the skies.

Dung beetles who work during the day can use the sun. But nocturnal dung beetles rely on moonlight – and that waxes and wanes thr