Beetles that navigate by the Milky Way

Some nocturnal African dung beetles roll a ball away from a dung pile in a straight line so other beetles cannot steal it. In a 2013 experiment, the beetles maintained their course under a full planetarium star field and even when only the Milky Way band was visible. Unlike birds, humans, and seals, which can use stars as navigational cues, this was researchers’ first reported demonstration of an insect using such a celestial signal.