Newly released Bubas bison get to work at Les and Anna Wolfe’s property in Youngs Siding​

Dung beetles have amazing benefits, improving our soils, pastures and livestock health – not to mention keeping nutrients on farms and out of waterways; and reducing numbers of the dreaded flies! We have well-established populations of summer dung beetles across the Wilson Inlet catchment, but beetles active throughout winter… not so much. WICC is working to boost winter dung beetle numbers across our farmland, by understanding when and where the gaps in dung beetle activity are. 

The winter-active beetle Bubas bison – WICC’s monitoring program has shown that it survives well in our catchment. 

So, we started trapping beetles where there are plenty, to release where there are few or none. We collected several hundred beetles from farms in our catchment with high numbers of Bubas bison, enough to start breeding colonies for future releases. To get beetles by the thousands – large enough numbers to begin releasing straight into paddocks – we needed to go a bit further afield. 

With the help of John Allen, an experienced entomologist who has made it his life’s mission to establish dung beetles in Western Australia, we found a beetle hotspot with beetle-friendly farmers happy to allow us to raid their plentiful dung beetle supplies (sometimes in exchange for a carton of beer). Placing traps along laneways and on road verges, we were able to collect thousands of beetles in a single night. We plan to return next year for more beetle trapping adventures. 

Young farmers Matilda and William Taylor, with WICC’s Kylie Cook (centre) release 1000 Bubas bison into their paddock at Youngs Siding in August 2022. 

So, what’s next in the world of dung beetles? We have four colonies of a new species, Bubas bubalus, arriving in spring. These will go into on-farm nurseries until numbers build up enough for release. This species complements our existing Bubas bison by following on through spring after the B. bison disappear for the year, filling the gap before the summer species become active. Our breeding colonies of Bubas bison should also become large enough to begin releasing into paddocks by next winter. 

Kentdale farmer Benita Cattalini with her breeding colony of Bubas bison. The beetles live in a converted IBC, being fed fresh dung regularly, until their numbers build up enough to release into the paddock.

Simon Carne releases winter dung beetles on his Happy Valley Road property

Experienced dairy farmer Des Houden, is pleased to add 1000 head of Bubas bison (winter dung beetles) to his herd. 

If you would like to be part of our dung beetle program, please visit wicc.org.au/dung-beetles or contact [email protected] to find out more.

Bleating Frog - photo courtesy Jodi Rowland

If you’ve found a small blotchy frog in the Denmark area recently and you’ve struggled to recognise it, don’t be frustrated. They can be notoriously difficult to identify. Many of these small frogs are not juveniles but adults and at full size can easily sit on a 10 or even 5 cent coin, that is 1-5cm.  A few of these cryptic critters are the focus in this edition; the small frogs and froglets of the south coast that will be calling in Djilba (August/September). We’ll cover some of the other larger more easily identifiable frogs in another issue, as well as some iconic mammals, reptiles and birds.   The reason why they can be so difficult to distinguish is that many frogs within the same species can have vastly different colours, patterns and even ridges, bumps and lumps.  Hence ‘it’s all in the call’.  A fairly reliable guide is that the frog you’ve uncovered is quite likely to be the species you’ve heard calling at that location. Of course, it’s not a 100% fool proof method as different species sometimes call from the same location, but it’s a start. 

Quacking Frog - Photo courtesy of Simon Cherriman

One species that does have unique features is the Quacking Frog, the largest of this group of small Australian ground frogs. It can be identified by splashes of red in the groin, armpits and thighs and a red or gold upper eyelid. More importantly – they ‘quack’ like a duck. However, before you get overly confident, a juvenile Quacking Frog looks a bit like the others. 

Rattling Frog - courtesy Tim Gamblin

Next, we have the diminutive Rattling Froglet at 1-2cm. Half the size of a Quacking Frog. So called because it sounds like a stone or pea being rolled around in a can. The similar sized South Coast Froglet looks much the same but has discs (small pads) at the end of its toes. Sometimes they have a triangular patch of colour between the eyes.  It makes a ‘fading squelch’ call. A nearly identical froglet is the Bleating Froglet that makes a call reminiscent of a goat or sheep. What a lot of people are hearing at night in their gardens at the moment in the ‘burbs of Denmark, are the Ticking Frogs. As the name implies, they make a series of ‘tick, tick’ calls. Like the Quacking Frog, they’re a bit larger than the two froglet species. They often have a wide racing stripe down their back. 

Ticking Frog - Photo courtesy of Jodi Rowland

The Ticking Frog is usually found near jarrah, the South Coast Froglet in melaleuca swamps, the Bleating Froglet near granite and both the Rattling Froglet and Quacking Frog in temporary or permanent shallow water seepages and wetlands. The calls are made principally by males to attract mates and a territorial warning to other males. Some Australian frogs such as the Rattling Frog call during the day. It’s riskier but being so small they’re gambling on staying safe. 

Frogs are an important part of the ecosystem and a key indicator of environmental health, especially in waterways. As such they’re called bioindicators, being sensitive to environmental pollution.  They consume a lot of invertebrates and are an important source of food for native species. Unfortunately, foxes are known to be quite good at eating frogs, especially the larger species.  One of the best ways to learn about your local frogs, and to help understand and conserve them, is by recording their calls using the free FrogID app produced by the Australian Museum, partnered with the WA Museum. This app will help you identify your frog and add to Australia’s frog database. Kids especially love being citizen scientists, finding frogs on a winters day (or night) and recording their calls. 

Thank you to Nadiah at FrogID for providing some of the  images for this article.

Scientific or Latin names for the species above, in order are: Crinia georgiana, Crinia glauerti, Crinia. subinsignifera, Crinia pseudinsignifera and Geocrinia leai. ​

Dung beetles

a black, shiny vitamin pill for your soil

Dung beetles rapidly bury livestock dung, reducing parasites and flies, sequestering carbon, improving soil health and preventing nutrient run-off into local waterways. Boosting local dung beetles and implementing beetle-friendly farming practices is win for both farmers and our local environment. 

Wilson Inlet Growers Group (WIGG) met to discuss dung beetles with John Allen, a well-known beetle expert, and WICC’s Sustainable Agriculture Project Officer Kylie Cook. Together, John and Kylie are working on bringing in additional dung beetle species to fill gaps in our catchment. 

Some chemical drenches and backline treatments for sheep and cattle are harmful to dung beetles. Kylie Cook says “We encourage farmers to consider using beetle-friendly drenches to protect their dung beetle populations.” Drenches and backlines containing macrocyclic lactones (such as ivermectin and abamectin) are harmful to dung beetles as they affect the development of the beetle larvae. A summary of beetle-friendly alternatives can be found at wicc.org.au/dung-beetles. 

Since May, Kylie Cook has been visiting farms looking for activity of the winter-active beetle Bubas bison. This large beetle digs tunnels up to 50cm deep. In the southern parts of the catchment, these beetles are persisting in low numbers, with higher levels of winter beetle activity in the northern catchment (Mt Barker and Denbarker). 

WICC has ordered breeding colonies of the spring-active beetle Bubas bubalus which will arrive in September from breeding facilities in Adelaide. These beetles will go into nurseries on farms until their numbers are high enough to begin releasing into paddocks around the catchment. 

Native Australian dung beetles evolved with marsupials and can’t process the large amounts of dung that livestock produce. Australia has been importing dung beetles since the 1960s, with the eventual aim of having dung beetles active year-round, on all grazing land. There is no risk of dung beetles becoming a pest as they rely solely on livestock dung for their food and breeding ground.

WIGG is funded in part by the Western Australian Government’s State Natural Resource Management Program.

As the bureau predicted we had a cold and dry June and July for all of our catchment area.  We had nearly half the rainfall we had last June and July.  While the start of August has been quite reasonable, the bureau is once again predicting a dry latter half of winter across the Southwest due in part to a positive Southern Annular Mode.  

The Wilson Inlet catchment is comprised of numerous sub catchments.  Some of the smaller sub catchments deliver more nutrients to the inlet than the larger ones.  Soil types, proximity to the inlet and watercourses, lands use and much more factor into the equation.  By having a better understanding of our sub catchments we can prioritise our on ground works so we can deliver the best outcomes for the health of the inlet.  Through Healthy Estuaries WA, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) has published several sub catchment nutrient reports for estuaries across the Southwest, including the Wilson Inlet.  The Cuppup and the Sleeman sub catchments are of particular importance when it comes to nutrient management in the Wilson Inlet catchment.  These low lying, sandier areas are more likely to export excess Phosphorous ( P ).  Understanding your P levels through soil testing and the timely application of less P in multiple applications rather than all at once has been shown to be more effective at keeping nutrients on the farm and out of our waterways.  Have a look at your sub catchment below to learn more…

WICC would like to express a huge thank you to our outgoing chair Joann Grenn. Jo will be missed in her role and remembered as an energetic advocate to the Nullaki. Jo and her husband David contributed many volunteer hours implementing and overseeing feral management, camera monitoring and the Nullaki fence.

WICCs bid to secure funding to purchase the Eungedup Wetlands was featured in the latest Australian Geographic magazine.

This property will be owned and managed by WICC with the full support of BirdLife Australia, Birdlife WA, Wetlands Conservation Society WA, Conservation Council of WA and Gondwana Link. We will be carefully monitoring water levels, salinity and pH of the wetlands to ensure their suitability for Australasian Bittern and other waterbirds.  A Menang Elder (traditional owners) will also permanently sit on the Management Group.  

WICC has raised nearly 20% of the required funds