tiny astronomers out there astronomizing
Speaking of the night sky (which I was several posts back), here are several amazing papers about how dung beetles use the night sky and the Milky Way to navigate:
How Dung Beetles Steer Straight
How dim is dim? Precision of the celestial compass in moonlight and sunlight
Light pollution forces a change in dung beetle orientation behavior
It seems that they use polarization patterns in light, both during the day & at night. They’re the only creatures known to be able to see the polarization of nighttime light, which is much weaker than that visible during the day. Some of this research also involved taking the beetles to a planetarium & observing them navigating by projections of the Milky Way, which seems like a good time for all involved.








