Male dung beetles roll animal feces into balls in order to attract females. The dung serves a purpose as well, food for the young larvae when the female accepts her gift and mates with the male. Like many other animals, the males have competition: other males. Competitors will steal a ball of dung before the hard-working male can deliver it to his potential mate.
To avoid having the smelly gift stolen, a male needs to make a quick getaway from the dung pile. This involves moving in a straight line. Researchers observed that on moonless nights the beetles were able to travel in a straight path.
Experimenters set out to study this observation and found the beetles were able to use the milky way, rather than individual stars, as well as the moon, to navigate. They also found that navigation was more difficult in overcast conditions or if the insects were otherwise hindered by sight.
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