Subject: A low Tech solution to solving Non-point pollution :DUNG BEETLES and the possibility of a host of new nature-based
From: D.B.Sullivan <[email-masked]

pharmaceuticals 

Letter to the editor:

A low Tech solution to solving Non-point pollution : DUNG BEETLES 
    and the possibility of a host of new  nature-based pharmaceuticals 
(One of Nature's Excellent Free Tools)

The History of using beneficial insects for mankind is a long one,
and this  little creature posses a solution to one our pressing problems
 of  agriculture ;  waste management and potential to create a host of
 nature-based  pharmaceuticals .

Dung beetles don't bite, spit or sting.  Their procreative joy in
 life  is  to bury fresh dung in  the ground in tunnels they dig. 
 The tunnels can be from a few inches to a  few feet deep.

What does this accomplish (from both a producer's and an ecologist's
perspective)?

   Rapidly removes dung from the surface which prevents smothering or
fouling of forage.  Decreases downstream non-point source pollution
from  manure.
   Efficiently puts fresh dung (a nitrogen source rich in organic
  matter  and moisture) back into the soil, recycling nutrients and natural
fertilizer.
   Improves soil health which increases both plant diversity and
 <plant  production which in turn increase ecological resilience.
   Increases soil organic matter enabling the soil to absorb and hold
 more
rainfall (decreases erosion and flooding and reduces effects of
drought).
   Removes the breeding media (dung) of hornflies and faceflies and
 of  many  internal parasites (those whose eggs or larvae incubate in
dung).
   Aerates the soil which improves habitat for soil life (e.g.
 earthworms).

Direct benefits to producers include decreased labor costs,
 veterinary  costs and treatment costs, increased forage production and
availability,  improved water quality (buried dung doesn't contaminate
 streams or  stock  ponds), decreased erosion, and increased drought
resistance.
                          Medical Research Potential
"T. inflatum is commonly  found in soils, but it does not make the
sexual  state without very special  conditions -- until it is on its
 favorite  host  -- which seems to be the  dung beetle."
"There are so many molds that we don't know the life cycle of. All
 the  cyclosporin in the world -- for hundreds of thousands of transplant 
patients who need anti-rejection drugs -- has been made from
 Tolypocladium  inflatum cultures without that mold ever reaching the
sexual  state," said  Kathie T. Hodge, the Cornell graduate student of 
 systematic mycology who  identified the New York fungus for what it is. 
" Knowing the true family history of T. inflatum/C. subsessilis will
help  target the search for other nature-based pharmaceuticals, according
 to Thomas Eisner, the Cornell biologist whose Institute for Research in
Chemical Ecology (CIRCE) will send "chemical prospecting" teams into
the  world's first temperate zone biodiversity preserve, less than a
 mile from  the woods where students found the fungal fruiting bodies. One
 close  relative of C. subsessilis already is known to Chinese athletes as
 the performance-enhancing "caterpillar fungus." * Cornell News Service
	
Also the Chinese from  PRC are using  parts of the Dung beetle for
 treating  Stomach Cancer. A derivative of cyclosporin is used with AZT
 to  improve  the  drug's effectiveness. The Dung beetle may spawn the
development  nature-based  pharmaceuticals that may hold the promise for
 a cure or  treatment  for AIDS or  Cancer.

It has come to our attention that a unique scientist Dr. Truman 
Fincher  and the only dung beetle quarantine facilities in the
 continental United  States (located at College Station, Texas) are about
to be lost.
 This would be significantly detrimental to the livestock  industry and to
the  ecological  health of our rangelands and potential research for
 host of new drug possiblities.

The United States has few dung beetle species (150) compared to
 Africa (over 2000).  Cattle are an "exotic" species introduced to North
America by  the Spaniards.  We need exotic dung beetle species that
 selectively  prefer  cow dung.  Australia also introduced the exotic
species cattle.
 
 They  have  since introduced over 30 species of dung beetles (mostly
 from Africa)  to  control their fly and dung accumulation problem.
 A healthy established population of the appropriate dung beetles
species  (selected for regional climate and rainfall conditions) can bury
as much  as  2000 lbs of manure per acre per day.

We are fortunate in the United States to have a scientist, Dr. Truman
Fincher, who has a unique expertise and research experience in
selecting,  importing through quarantine, colonizing and releasing
 specific dung  beetle  species.  Establishment of introduced species is t
he short term  objective.    His long term goal is to provide continuous
burial of
 fresh dung in pastures and rangelands throughout the USA.

We have an immediate opportunity to request that his knowledge (the
 results  of a many year Agricultural Research Service [ARS] project
 terminated in  1987) and dung beetle quarantine facilities (at College
Station TX, the  only one in the USA) be used through USDA Animal and
 Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to implement the importation,
colonization
and  large scale release of the appropriate dung beetle species to
 benefit all  interested producers and to improve soil health and diversity
of
pasture  and rangeland.  It would seem appropriate at this time to
 transfer Dr.  Fincher from ARS to APHIS and to initiate a new APHIS
program. 

 Such a  program could be funded for as little as $250,000 a year for
five years.   The facilities are in place.  The research has been done. 
Implementation  is all that is needed. Your support is required as soon
 as possible to make this happen (the quarantine facilities will be
terminated as of
 Sept.  30, 1997).

If you are interested, please write, FAX or phone your Congress
 persons  and  copy to:  Mr. Terry Medley, Administrator of APHIS, USDA,
Rm. 312E
Jamie  Whitten Bldg., 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington D.C.
20250-3401.Phone 202-720-3668.  FAX 202-720-3054.

For more information, contact us:  Drs. Dick or Patricia Richardson, 
Dept.  of Zoology, Univ. of Texas, Austin TX 78712, phone 512-471-4128,
or  e-mail,  [email-masked].

 Submitted by:
 David B. Sullivan, Public Relations Director  
 Wisconsin Bison Producers Association
 Telephone (608) -723-6213 
 email: [email-masked]
 Mailing address: Buffalo Falls Ranch, LLC 
 7744 Irish Hollow Road
 Potosi, Wi 53820
 
RECYCLING ORGANIC WASTE FOR AGRICULTURE