Factors effecting kleptoparasitism in the dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus

Onthophagus taurus exhibits brood parasitism, in which an female either destroys the brood ball of another female or kills the egg and replaces it with her own. Many factors may influence whether or not it is more beneficial to steal vs. not and we examined, the effect of beetle density and the presence of extra dung on the rate of brood parasitism. Results show that there is a high level of kleptoparasitism (~75%), regardless of density and/or the presence of additional dung. Complete destruction of the brood ball was less likely to occur when two females were present vs. all other conditions. Females given both brood balls and extra dung were more likely to create new brood balls than to lay an egg in the existing brood ball. We also document that males, not just females, kleptoparasitize.