John Feehan recently made an exciting discovery at Araluen in New South Wales.
He found and harvested the dung beetle, Onitis pecuarius, while visiting a property at Araluen.
John was involved in the breeding of this particular species at the CSIRO some forty years ago. He released a colony on a property owned by the McCoy family at Nelligen in the 1970s whence the species spread down the Runnyford track to Moruya on the south coast of New South Wales. It has now spread up the Deua River to Araluen.
This represents the first occasion when this species has been successfully harvested and relocated to a distant site.
O pecuarius is now so well established at Araluen that John was able to harvest 800 beetles in only 90 minutes. The species is now available for sale and distribution to areas that are climatically suitable to it.
