Australia's dung beetle problem began almost two centuries before scientists found a solution, when European settlers introduced cattle whose droppings were unlike anything most native Australian dung beetles had evolved to process. The First Fleet brought five cows and two bulls in 1788, and as cattle numbers grew, their large, moist dung pads accumulated across grazing land because Australia's native beetles were adapted primarily to the smaller, drier droppings of marsupials. By the middle of the 20th century, the buildup had become a serious agricultural problem, with cattle dung covering large areas of pasture and providing breeding sites for bush flies. Entomologist George Bornemisza recognised the problem during his early work in Australia and proposed importing dung beetles from overseas that were better suited to cattle manure. After years of research and testing, CSIRO began releasing selected species. A small trial in 1967 was followed by a much larger programme from 1968 to 1970, when approximately 275,000 beetles from four species were released across cattle country. The introduced beetles quickly demonstrated why the strategy could work. By burying and consuming cattle dung, they helped return nutrients to the soil, reduced breeding habitat for flies and improved pasture conditions. The programme became an important example of biological control being used to address an agricultural problem created by introduced livestock.
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