This summer, students in Biology Professor Erin McCullough’s lab have been in the field conducting hands-on research on dung beetles, which play an important role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. 🐞🌿

The team set up pitfall traps in Clark’s Hadwen Arboretum, located about half a mile from campus, to collect the insects. Back in the lab, they gather the “brood balls” — where the mothers lay their eggs — which will emerge as an adults in about a month.

The students will then be able to use the beetles for behavioral experiments to learn about their parental care habits.
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📸 Pictured: Professor Erin McCullough, Sydney Kochensparger ’25, Luna Pagan ’27, and Beatrice Altopp ’25.