Rolling the Groceries Home

Bronze Africa ‘Rolling the Groceries Home’

Commissioned by our good friend Jim Hensley the request was unusual but in effect very interesting. The Dung Beetle is the only creature warm blooded, cold blooded or insect that creates something from a raw material and then by rolling it along the ground eventually makes it perfectly round as it gathers soil particles. In this case a blob of dung is clawed from a pile of wet dung into which the beetle lays eggs then rolls it to build a crust of earth on it and then buries it by digging all around it, gradually sinking the ball into the ground where the eggs hatch and the little worm has a full larder to snack on until it pupates and emerges as another beetle to continue the cycle. Made more interesting by the fact that despite seeing this round object being rolled along the ground the wheel was not developed in Africa.