My original plan was to title this newsletter “My Dog Pooped on the Patio,” but Kim told me that was not a classy way to open the Kerby’s newsletter. So instead I saved it for the first line. As Jim from The Office would say, that is déclassé.

Anyhow, it really starts with a little beetle. Kim and I were eating lunch on a regular old Monday, when we noticed our dog, Pearl, taking an interest in movement on the pool deck. She’s always on the hunt for lizards, so we figured that she had finally managed to capture one. But instead, she was nipping and snipping at a little beetle, not much larger than the size of a dime. Kim called her away to try to get her to let the beetle be, when suddenly the beetle starts moving a mass of something twice the size of itself. (Click the image to watch a quick video.)

And then we realized that it was actually a beetle rolling a piece of dog poop across the deck. Sort of gross and mesmerizing all at the same time. This beetle worked hard and managed to move its load a good six feet before reaching the pool screen. What it planned on doing after that, we have no idea. I have definitely heard of dung beetles, but I didn’t realize that we had them in Florida. This one appears to be Peltotrupes profundus or the Florida Deep Digger Scarab Beetle. They can dig holes up to ten feet deep and the good news is that they don’t harm plants or lawns.

So while we aren’t thrilled that the dog pooped on the patio, I would never have learned about this kind of beetle if she hadn’t. So thanks, Pearl, I guess, but, next time, let’s take your business outside.