Watch a plant fool this beetle into carrying its seed
- 4 years ago
A Cape Restio (Ceratocaryum argenteum) produces large, hard nuts that smell and look remarkably like dung, and are buried by dung beetles. These nuts provide no food for dung beetles or their larvae – a classic example of biological deception, and possibly one of the best examples of fecal mimicry for seed dispersal anywhere in the world.