‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ Guide: Dung Beetle Taming And Use
The Dung Beetle was added to ARK: Survival Evolved via the 232.0 patch for the PC and the 731.0 update for the Xbox One. The prehistoric bug serves a unique function in the open-world survival game that will help with crop production and cut down on trips to harvest oil. However, it’s also one of the ickier animals available.
Where to Find the Dung Beetle
Dung Beetles can be found in the many caves located around the Island in ARK: Survival Evolved. The Upper South cave near the volcano and the Lower South cave are the two best spots found so far. The former is preferred because it is possible to ride small to medium-sized dinosaur mounts into the cave.
The Beetles tend to congregate around water sources deeper inside the caves, which makes clearing aggressive creatures such as Bats, Dilos, Scorpions, and Titan Boas necessary.
Dung Beetles are a unique tame in ARK: Survival Evolved for a couple of reasons. First, they are a passive tame, which means they cannot be knocked out. Second, their preferred food for taming is poop. Large Animal Feces will produce the best taming result followed by Medium Animal Feces, Small Animal Feces, and Human Feces. Spoiled Meat is also a possibility, but is extremely inefficient.
Taming a Dung Beetle will require exploring into a cave until one or more are discovered. You can ten tame in one of two ways. You can sneak up on the Dung Beetle from behind and feed it a piece of poop or you can agro the bug to make it chase you until it exhausts its stamina and then feed it a piece of poop.
Refer to the taming calculators at Survive Ark or Crumplecorn for the exact amount of feces needed for the level of Dung Beetle you are attempting to tame.
ARK Survivors may attempt to tame Dung Beetle inside the cave or make it aggressive and draw it out. Aggroing the beetle can be challenging because it may get stuck on a corner or a rock.
Just be sure to have an Argentavis, Quetzal, or at least a raft on hand to bring it back to base. The Dung Beetle is relatively slow and weak, so it’s not something you want to walk back to base.
Usage
The Compost Bin in ARK has nothing on the Dung Beetle. It is a highly-efficient Fertilizer maker and produces Oil as well, but the feces has to be manually placed in the Beetle’s inventory currently and it must be set to wander for that to happen. Here is the current breakdown of what can be produced.
- 2 Small Animal Feces = 1 Fertilizer and 2 Oil
- 1 Medium Animal Feces = 2 Fertilizer and 4 Oil
- 1 Large Animal Feces = 3 Fertilizer and 6 Oil
It takes 15 minutes for a Dung Beetle to convert poop into Fertilizer and Oil.
Again, it is important to remember that the giant bug will not pick up feces on its own. ARK players will have to manually put it in the creature’s inventory. Additionally, you’ll want to keep Dung Beetles in a pen since they must be left to wander to produce.
Leveling
Weight is the biggest need and the biggest issue for the Dung Beetle, so you’ll want to focus all leveling there. The more feces, fertilizer, and oil it can carry the less ARK Survivors will have to babysit it. Once encumbered, the Dung Beetle will stop producing.
Dossier
- Wild: “What magic created the Scarabidae gigas, I cannot say. What I can say is that this creature is a perfect symbiont for advanced human tribes.”
- Domesticated: “Scarabidae makes me think humans have been on the island for a long time. Why else would a creature evolve to be such a perfect pet? Most tribes jealously protect their Scarabidae, whom are handily tamed with the skilled use of some well-handled feces. These wondrous little organic biofactories are truly a sustainable, green, eco-friendly source of resources for living off the land. Oil becomes gas, which is generator fuel. Fertilizer means crops, which is human fuel. The scarabidae can power all aspects of island life!”
- Known Information: “Coprophagic, it eats mostly useless waste (feces). It metabolizes this waste into a more refined waste product, along with an oily byproduct. The oily byproduct is chemically the same as the oil found in the oceans around the island. Somehow, Scarabidae converts feces into oil. If that wasn’t reason enough to worship the Scarabidae, the refined waste product is almost identical to fertilizer from a compost bin.”
ARK General Guides:
- How to Choose a Server
- How to Fish
- How to Deal with Disease
- Understanding Status Indicators and Effects
- Xbox One Tips and Tricks
ARK Map Guide:
ARK Taming Guides:
- Arthropluera
- Dimetrodon
- Direbear
- Dung Beetle
- Dunkleosteus
- Gallimimus
- Giant Beaver
- Lystrosaurus
- Manta
- Terror Bird
- Titanosaur
- Woolly Rhino
[Image via ARK: Survival Evolved]
