Dung Beetles and Baobabs

It’s hard to imagine dung beetles could have much in common with Baobabs! Which is why we liked this article by Scott N Ramsay who says:”Dung beetles, it turns out, are important dispersal agents, collecting manure into a ball, laying their eggs inside, and rolling the ball into a hole in the ground where the larvae of the beetle can hatch. In the process, the seeds of grass and trees in the dung are also buried. I had never considered that an ancient, regal baobab tree could have originated from the breeding habits of a poo-loving beetle four thousand years ago. But there you have it – they’re connected in some way.”  Baobab seeds are relatively large,but it’s not an impossibility that that germinating Baobab seedlings could use the manure buried by dung beetles to boost the growth of its first few shoots…

 

 

 

 

Continue reading....

Find more interesting articles below

How baobab’s heal themselves…

How baobab’s heal themselves…

Recently, friend and baobab fan Shona sent through this delightful photo taken near Xigera Reserve, Okavango Delta in April this year.  It shows their guide pointing out elephant damage to a baobab tree.  It’s old elephant damage and you can see in the picture how the wound has healed over with new bark.  It’s quite wonderful how baobabs manage to […]

Read more
London baobab tree

London baobab tree

ISN'T IT AMAZING HOW THE BAOBAB BRINGS TOGETHER COMMUNITY – EVEN IN LONDON! The bright and bold London baobab tree rises almost 46 feet high on Southbank’s waterfront. Designed by the group of artists, engineers and designers in Pirate Technics, the tree was created to represent the nations of the world that took part in this […]

Read more
The Baobab Tree: worth it’s weight in gold

The Baobab Tree: worth it’s weight in gold

How could we not like this beautiful gold hand crafted pendant of a baobab tree?  We also really like the concept of Precious Earth Jewelers who only use recycled previous metals to reduce the impact of mining on the earth's surface. Their  eco-conscious jewelry feature's Precous Earth's trade mark is a single "little green gemstone" of imperial […]

Read more