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Ears tuned
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THE LAST WORD Dung addicts We muck out our horse paddock twice a day. In the late summer and autumn, there are usually one to three dark-blue iridescent beetles sitting in burrows beneath the horse droppings. How do they get there in such a short time, which is perhaps 12 hours at most? Do the beetles come through the soil (which is often very hard and dry in the summer) or do they travel over the ground?
expertly forming a portion into a ball. Having done so, the beetle hurried away with it. As I watched, grimly fascinated, another arrived on the wing, and then another, and another. I was so astonished that I didn’t think to count how many there were, but within 30 minutes there wasn’t a trace of my faeces left. Still more dung beetles flew in, presumably attracted by the residual smell, and wandered around forlornly. It was one of my more memorable wildlife experiences. Alistair Scott Gland, Switzerland
n The beetles burrowing in the horse droppings have almost certainly flown there, attracted by the smell. They are likely to be dung beetles, of the family n Some years ago I released five Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles). species of dung beetle on to our Dung beetles are loosely divided farm in southern New South into rollers, burrowers and Wales. These species originated dwellers. Rollers will roll a ball in South Africa, and after years of dung away and bury it for of testing were allowed into food or egg-laying. Burrowers dig Australia, along with other down into the dung, feeding and species. breeding inside it. Dwellers live The reason that the beetles on top of the dung. Your beetles arrive on the dung so quickly is seem to be burrowers. that they are strong flyers, some Most dung beetles have an with quite a loud buzz. exquisitely sensitive sense of smell and are powerful flyers. To “Dung beetle eggs are laid avoid competition, and lessen the in cowpats, and the larvae hatch in about three days risk of the dung drying out and and dig tunnels” becoming impossible to mine, the beetles arrive very quickly. I worked for 20 years in Zambia Eggs are laid in cowpats, and the and frequently had to take trips larvae hatch in about three days into the bush. On one occasion and dig tunnels, pulling the dung I was driving alone on a remote down. This kills any fly larvae that road and pulled over to relieve are present, which take five days myself. As I crouched, there was to hatch. a loud buzzing and, when I stood A fly can lay about 3,000 eggs on up, I saw a dung beetle had arrived one cowpat, so the improvement and was already hard at work, of my farm pasture and the
The writers of answers that are published in the magazine will receive a cheque for £25 (or US$ equivalent). Answers should be concise. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style. Please include a daytime telephone number and an email address if you have one. New Scientist retains total editorial control over the published content. Reed Business Information Ltd reserves all rights to reuse all question and answer material that has been
submitted by readers in any medium or in any format and at any time in the future. Send questions and answers to The Last Word, New Scientist, 110 High Holborn, London WC1V 6EU, UK, by email to [email protected] or visit www.newscientist.com/topic/lastword (please include a postal address in order to receive payment for answers). Unanswered questions can also be found at this URL.
reduction of fly numbers have been striking. David Hamilton Sydney, Australia
Ears tuned Hearing aids pick up airborne acoustic signals, and can be switched to receive signals from an induction loop. Why haven’t they been designed to receive TV and radio signals directly?
n The main reason hearing aids don’t pick up TV or radio directly is size. A TV aerial needs to be big to capture the signal, and it won’t fit into a hearing aid. Even with a strong signal, hearing aids use very small zinc-oxide batteries which have limited capacity, restricting their ability to perform the necessary tasks. However, the industry is working to solve these problems. Hearing-aid and technology companies are working with the Bluetooth standards group to transmit and receive audio over the low-energy version of Bluetooth. Your hearing aid won’t receive TV or radio signals directly; rather, the audio will be wirelessly transmitted from your TV, tablet or phone to your hearing aid. The technology is also being designed to replace the current telecoil inductive loops in public places, providing higher quality along with the ability to listen to sound in stereo. Nick Hunn London, UK
This week’s questions Deckchair port
I notice that Heathrow Airport often tops the list of highest daily temperatures in summer in the UK. Why is this? Katriona Sewell London, UK Chromatic quandary
If subatomic particles could be seen with the naked eye, what colours would they be? Michael Green Seaview, Isle of Wight, UK Fishy hell
I don’t like eating fish and I find their odour disagreeable. My wife says it’s all in my head, but I think that many people have my aversion. Is there a genetic or evolutionary component to it, is it based on an unpleasant childhood experience, or do I have to concede to my wife’s theory? Al Morin London, UK Nutty question
Why is the scrotum so wrinkly? Neil Smith By email, no address supplied Uncommon ancestor
Like other white Europeans I carry about 2.5 per cent Neanderthal genes, more than indigenous Africans. If we all walked out of Africa about 100,000 years ago, what is the explanation for this? A. M. Bryant La Reortiere, Le Busseau, France
Question Everything The latest book of science questions: unpredictable and entertaining. Expect the unexpected Available from booksellers and at newscientist.com/questioneverything
THE LAST WORD Dung addicts We muck out our horse paddock twice a day. In the late summer and autumn, there are usually one to three dark-blue iridescent beetles sitting in burrows beneath the horse droppings. How do they get there in such a short time, which is perhaps 12 hours at most? Do the beetles come through the soil (which is often very hard and dry in the summer) or do they travel over the ground?
expertly forming a portion into a ball. Having done so, the beetle hurried away with it. As I watched, grimly fascinated, another arrived on the wing, and then another, and another. I was so astonished that I didn’t think to count how many there were, but within 30 minutes there wasn’t a trace of my faeces left. Still more dung beetles flew in, presumably attracted by the residual smell, and wandered around forlornly. It was one of my more memorable wildlife experiences. Alistair Scott Gland, Switzerland
n The beetles burrowing in the horse droppings have almost certainly flown there, attracted by the smell. They are likely to be dung beetles, of the family n Some years ago I released five Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles). species of dung beetle on to our Dung beetles are loosely divided farm in southern New South into rollers, burrowers and Wales. These species originated dwellers. Rollers will roll a ball in South Africa, and after years of dung away and bury it for of testing were allowed into food or egg-laying. Burrowers dig Australia, along with other down into the dung, feeding and species. breeding inside it. Dwellers live The reason that the beetles on top of the dung. Your beetles arrive on the dung so quickly is seem to be burrowers. that they are strong flyers, some Most dung beetles have an with quite a loud buzz. exquisitely sensitive sense of smell and are powerful flyers. To “Dung beetle eggs are laid avoid competition, and lessen the in cowpats, and the larvae hatch in about three days risk of the dung drying out and and dig tunnels” becoming impossible to mine, the beetles arrive very quickly. I worked for 20 years in Zambia Eggs are laid in cowpats, and the and frequently had to take trips larvae hatch in about three days into the bush. On one occasion and dig tunnels, pulling the dung I was driving alone on a remote down. This kills any fly larvae that road and pulled over to relieve are present, which take five days myself. As I crouched, there was to hatch. a loud buzzing and, when I stood A fly can lay about 3,000 eggs on up, I saw a dung beetle had arrived one cowpat, so the improvement and was already hard at work, of my farm pasture and the
The writers of answers that are published in the magazine will receive a cheque for £25 (or US$ equivalent). Answers should be concise. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style. Please include a daytime telephone number and an email address if you have one. New Scientist retains total editorial control over the published content. Reed Business Information Ltd reserves all rights to reuse all question and answer material that has been
submitted by readers in any medium or in any format and at any time in the future. Send questions and answers to The Last Word, New Scientist, 110 High Holborn, London WC1V 6EU, UK, by email to [email protected] or visit www.newscientist.com/topic/lastword (please include a postal address in order to receive payment for answers). Unanswered questions can also be found at this URL.
reduction of fly numbers have been striking. David Hamilton Sydney, Australia
Ears tuned Hearing aids pick up airborne acoustic signals, and can be switched to receive signals from an induction loop. Why haven’t they been designed to receive TV and radio signals directly?
n The main reason hearing aids don’t pick up TV or radio directly is size. A TV aerial needs to be big to capture the signal, and it won’t fit into a hearing aid. Even with a strong signal, hearing aids use very small zinc-oxide batteries which have limited capacity, restricting their ability to perform the necessary tasks. However, the industry is working to solve these problems. Hearing-aid and technology companies are working with the Bluetooth standards group to transmit and receive audio over the low-energy version of Bluetooth. Your hearing aid won’t receive TV or radio signals directly; rather, the audio will be wirelessly transmitted from your TV, tablet or phone to your hearing aid. The technology is also being designed to replace the current telecoil inductive loops in public places, providing higher quality along with the ability to listen to sound in stereo. Nick Hunn London, UK
This week’s questions Deckchair port
I notice that Heathrow Airport often tops the list of highest daily temperatures in summer in the UK. Why is this? Katriona Sewell London, UK Chromatic quandary
If subatomic particles could be seen with the naked eye, what colours would they be? Michael Green Seaview, Isle of Wight, UK Fishy hell
I don’t like eating fish and I find their odour disagreeable. My wife says it’s all in my head, but I think that many people have my aversion. Is there a genetic or evolutionary component to it, is it based on an unpleasant childhood experience, or do I have to concede to my wife’s theory? Al Morin London, UK Nutty question
Why is the scrotum so wrinkly? Neil Smith By email, no address supplied Uncommon ancestor
Like other white Europeans I carry about 2.5 per cent Neanderthal genes, more than indigenous Africans. If we all walked out of Africa about 100,000 years ago, what is the explanation for this? A. M. Bryant La Reortiere, Le Busseau, France
Question Everything The latest book of science questions: unpredictable and entertaining. Expect the unexpected Available from booksellers and at newscientist.com/questioneverything