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Lousy watchman (Geotrupes stercorarius )

The dung or dor beetle, or dumbledore, is also known as the lousy watchman on account of the copper-coloured mites that are very often found to infest its underside as seen in this image. There is a divergence of opinion as to whether the mites are parasitic (drawing nourishment from the host) or phoretic (using the host as a means of transport). In either case it is not to the advantage of the mites to jeopardize the survival of the beetle but this one was struggling upside down on the path.