Alberta entomologist Kevin Floate is ready to start spreading the news that he has compiled a comprehensive guide into insects that live in cow dung in Canada.
Beaver, Okla., has held the World Cow Chip Throwing Contest since 1969 and singer Jim Stafford penned the tongue-in-cheek 1981 hit “Cow Patti.”Photo by DRAGO PRVULOVICDespite the potential for numerous scatological jokes, Floate said he doesn’t mind a bit of ribbing about his profession.
“I embrace it because it’s an unusual topic, yet it’s everywhere, ” Floate said with a laugh. “So, I don’t mind a bad pun, and when you work in cow pies, you get a lot of bad puns.” Floate said he has spent much of his career looking at the effects of chemicals that end up in cattle dung, and the impact on the insects that live there.He’s identified more than 300 insects in his dung detective’s handbook and only three are considered harmful: horn flies, face flies and stable flies.Article content“Some of those beetles will put the dung underground in tunnels.
He said the actions of the beetles also disperse seeds and pollinate plants before they are eventually consumed by birds and smaller mammals higher up the food chain. Float said the scattering of the fecal matter also reduces the number of pest insects that breed and bother cattle.
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Big bug benefits: Alberta scientist releases guide identifying cow dung insectsAlberta entomologist Kevin Floate is ready to start spreading the news that he has compiled a comprehensive guide into insects that live in cow dung in Canada.
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