MovieChat Forums > Microcosmos: Le peuple de l'herbe (1996) Discussion > Why was the beetle pushing the pebble?

Why was the beetle pushing the pebble?


There was one scene where this beetle was pushing a pebble for a really long time. The pebble was about twice the beetle's size, and the beetle had to face away from it and push it with it's back legs. At one point, the perfectly round pebble gets stuck on a twig, and the beetle skillfully gets it unstuck. Then the movie cuts to other insects.

I really wanted to know what in the heck the beetle was planning to do with the pebble. Is that normal behavior for them? What do they gather pebbles for?

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That wasn't a pebble, it was she-ite.

It's a dung beetle. It was pushing its food back to its home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dung_beetle

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I believe for the sake of the 'script', that poo ball was pushed onto the twig by the human crew. Perhaps to study if the animal would figure it out, but somewhat mean none the less.

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