When these two beauties caught my eye last Sunday on a hill near Maam bridge, they looked dead. But both of them stirred into life with a fair bit of prodding. They are Common Dor beetles (Geotrupes stercorarius, or Cloigín as Gaeilge). Dor Beetles are a type of dung beetle, and lay their eggs in dung.
The most colourful part of the beetle is the underside. Ironically, these beetles has difficulty righting itself when they are turned over – they are at their most noticeable when they are most vulnerable.
