Remarkable Beetle Reading Answer

Remarkable Beetle Reading Answer is an important passage for IELTS reading test. The passage of Remarkable Beetle Reading Answer is from IELTS academic test 6. Remarkable Beetle Reading Answer has 13 questions after the reading passage and 3 types of questions are listed here:

  • Yes/No
  • Match the names with diagrams
  • Complete the table

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Remarkable Beetle Reading Answer is extracted from First Investigation of the Semiochemistry of South African Dung Beetle Species. IELTS reading section comes with different questions and the candidates often cannot found out the exact ways of answering the questions.To excel in IELTS reading, preparing from IELTS reading practice paper is necessary. 

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Remarkable Beetle Reading Answer  

  1. Some of the most remarkable beetles are the dung beetles, which spend almost their whole lives eating and breeding in dung’.
  2. More than 4,000 species of these remarkable creatures have evolved and adapted to the world’s different climates and the dung of its many animals. Australia’s native dung beetles are scrub and woodland dwellers, specialising in coarse marsupial droppings and avoiding the soft cattle dung in which bush flies and buffalo flies breed.
  3. In the early 1960s George Bornemissza, then a scientist at the Australian Government’s premier research organisation, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), suggested that dung beetles should be introduced to Australia to control dung-breeding flies. Between 1968 and 1982, the CSIRO imported insects from about 50 different species of dung beetle, from Asia, Europe and Africa, aiming to match them to different climatic zones in Australia. Of the 26 species that are known to have become successfully integrated into the local environment, only one, an African species released in northern Australia, has reached its natural boundary.
  4. Introducing dung beetles into a pasture is a simple process: approximately 1,500 beetles are released; a handful at a time, into fresh cow pats 2 in the cow pasture. The beetles immediately disappear beneath the pats digging and tunneling and, if they successfully adapt to their new environment, soon become a permanent, self-sustaining part of the local ecology. In time they multiply and within three or four years the benefits to the pasture are obvious.
  5. Dung beetles work from the inside of the pat so they are sheltered from predators such as birds and foxes. Most species burrow into the soil and bury dung in tunnels directly underneath the pats, which are hollowed out from within. Some large species originating from France excavate tunnels to a depth of approximately 30 cm below the dung pat. These beetles make sausage-shaped brood chambers along the tunnels. The shallowest tunnels belong to a much smaller Spanish species that buries dung in chambers that hang like fruit from the branches of a pear tree. South African beetles dig narrow tunnels of approximately 20 cm below the surface of the pat. Some surface-dwelling beetles, including a South African species, cut perfectly-shaped balls from the pat, which are rolled away and attached to the bases of plants.
  6. For maximum dung burial in spring, summer and autumn, farmers require a variety of species with overlapping periods of activity. In the cooler environments of the state of Victoria, the large French species (2.5 cm long) is matched with smaller (half this size), temperate-climate Spanish species. The former are slow to recover from the winter cold and produce only one or two generations of offspring from late spring until autumn. The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring, produce two to five generations annually. The South African ball-rolling species, being a subtropical beetle, prefers the climate of northern and coastal New South Wales where it commonly works with the South African tunneling species. In warmer climates, many species are active for longer periods of the year.
  7. Dung beetles were initially introduced in the late 1960s with a view to controlling buffalo flies by removing the dung within a day or two and so preventing flies from breeding. However, other benefits have become evident. Once the beetle larvae have finished pupation, the residue is a first-rate source of fertiliser. The tunnels abandoned by the beetles provide excellent aeration and water channels for root systems. In addition, when the new generation of beetles has left the nest the abandoned burrows are an attractive habitat for soil-enriching earthworms. The digested dung in these burrows is an excellent food supply for the earthworms, which decompose it further to provide essential soil nutrients. If it were not for the dung beetle, chemical fertiliser and dung would be washed by rain into streams and rivers before it could be absorbed into the hard earth, polluting water courses and causing blooms of blue-green algae. Without the beetles to dispose of the dung, cow pats would litter pastures making grass inedible to cattle and depriving the soil of sunlight. Australia’s 30 million cattle each produce 10-12 cow pats a day. This amounts to 1.7 billion tonnes a year, enough to smother about 110,000 sq km of pasture, half the area of Victoria.
  8. Dung beetles have become an integral part of the successful management of dairy farms in Australia over the past few decades. A number of species are available from the CSIRO or through a small number of private breeders, most of whom were entomologists with the CSIRO’s dung beetle unit who have taken their specialised knowledge of the insect and opened small businesses in direct competition with their former employer.

Glossary

  1. dung:- the droppings or excreta of animals
  2. cow pats:- droppings of cows

Section 2

Solution With Explanation 

Questions 1-5
Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 6? In boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet write:

  • YES             if the statement reflects the claims of the writer
  • NO               if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
  • NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
  1. Bush flies are easier to control than buffalo flies.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

  1. Four thousand species of dung beetle were initially brought to Australia by the CSIRO.

Answer: NO

Explanation: The question states the exact number as four thousand species of dung beetle in Australia whereas, the passage in its second paragraph states that more than four thousand species of dung beetle all over the World and not only in Australia that has already been evolved and adapted to their temperature.

Supporting sentence: More than 4,000 species of these remarkable creatures have evolved and adapted to the world’s different climates and the dung of its many animals. Australia’s native dung beetles are scrub and woodland dwellers, specialising in coarse marsupial droppings and avoiding the soft cattle dung in which bush flies and buffalo flies breed.

Keywords: More than 4,000 species

Location in the passage: Paragraph 2

Read More IELTS Reading Samples

  1. Dung beetles were brought to Australia by the CSIRO over a fourteen-year period.

Answer: Yes

Explanation: It’s given in paragraph 3 that in between 1968 and 1982, 50 different species of dung beetle insects were imported by the CSIRO imported. The locations were Asia, Europe, and Africa. The reason behind this import was to match them to different climatic zones in Australia. The time was 14 years. Hence, the answer should be YES.

Supporting sentence: Between 1968 and 1982, the CSIRO imported insects from about 50 different species of dung beetle, from Asia, Europe, and Africa, aiming to match them to different climatic zones in Australia.

Keywords: CSIRO imported, 1968 and 1982, match them, climatic zones in Australia

Location in the passage: Paragraph 3

  1. At least twenty-six of the introduced species have become established in Australia.

Answer: Yes

Explanation: The statement of the question is given in the passage in the third paragraph of how twenty-six introduced species have become established in Australia and Africa. It clearly aligns with the passage and 26 species successfully integrated with the environment after the import was done.

Supporting sentence: Of the 26 species that are known to have become successfully integrated into the local environment, only one, an African species released in northern Australia, has reached its natural boundary.

Keywords:Of the 26 species, successfully integrated into the local environment

Location in the passage: Paragraph 3

  1. The dung beetles cause an immediate improvement to the quality of a cow pasture.

Answer: No

Explanation: The dung beetles take three to four years for the duration for an improvement to the quality of cow pasture and don’t happen immediately. It is mentioned in paragraph fourth of the given passage. It is related to the import of the dung beetles previously. The process of pasture is also given in the 4th paragraph of this reading passage.

Supporting sentence: Introducing dung beetles into a pasture is a simple process: approximately 1,500 beetles are released; a handful at a time, into fresh cow pats 2 in the cow pasture. The beetles immediately disappear beneath the pats digging and tunneling and, if they successfully adapt to their new environment, soon become a permanent, self-sustaining part of the local ecology. In time they multiply and within three or four years the benefits to the pasture are obvious.

Keywords:

Location in the passage: Paragraph 4

Questions 6-8

Label the tunnels on the diagram below. Choose your labels from the box below the diagram.

Label the tunnels

Write your answers in boxes 6-8 on your answer sheet.

Dung Beetle Types
French
Spanish
Mediterranean
Australian native
South African
South African ball roller
  1. Answer: South African

Explanation: The dung beetles in South Africa dig tunnels of up to 20 centimeters approximately below the surface of the pat. It has been mentioned in the fifth paragraph of the passage in the last third line and the diagram given shows the tunnel of twenty centimeters. The lengths are mentioned at the left side of the diagram and as it shows 20 for number 6, the correct answer would be South Africa.

Supporting sentence: Some surface-dwelling beetles, including a South African species, cut perfectly-shaped balls from the pat, which are rolled away and attached to the bases of plants.

Keywords: surface-dwelling beetles, a South African species, perfectly-shaped balls from the pat

Location in the passage: Paragraph 5

  1. Answer: French

Explanation: The dung beetles in France dig tunnels of up to 30 centimeters approximately below the surface of the pat. It has been mentioned in the fifth paragraph of the passage in the last three to fifth line and the diagram given shows the tunnel of thirty centimeters. So, the correct answer would be France. These are the large species and the description of this species matches with the diagram. 30 centimeters is clearly pointed out for number 7 which indicates it the french species.

Supporting sentence: Some large species originating from France excavate tunnels to a depth of approximately 30 cm below the dung pat. These beetles make sausage-shaped brood chambers along the tunnels.

Keywords: France excavate tunnels, approximately 30 cm below the dung pat

Location in the passage: Paragraph 5

  1. Answer: Spanish

Explanation: It is stated in the passage that the shallowest tunnels belong to a much smaller Spanish species that buries dung in chambers that hang like fruit from the branches of a pear tree. The dung beetles in Spain dig tunnels of up to 10 centimeters approximately below the surface of the pat. It has been mentioned in the fifth paragraph of the passage in the last fifth line to the sixth line and the diagram given shows the tunnel of ten centimeters. So, the correct answer would be Spanish dung beetles.

Supporting sentence: Spanish species that buries dung in chambers that hang like fruit from the branches of a pear tree. South African beetles dig narrow tunnels of approximately 20 cm below the surface of the pat.

Keywords: Spanish species, hang like fruit from the branches of a pear tree, approximately 20 cm below the surface of the pat

Location in the passage: Paragraph 5

Questions 9-13
Complete the table below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER from Reading Passage 6 for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 9—13 on your answer sheet.

Species Size Preferred Climate Complementary Species Start of active period Number of generations per year
French 2.5 cm cool spanish Late spring 1-2
Spanish 1.25 cm 9)……. - 10)…… 11)……
South African Ball Roller - 12)…… 13)…… - -
  1. Answer: Temperate

Explanation: This complete the table question is about the species and their different characteristics in the first row the characteristics of the french one is given. Question number 9 is about the preferred climate of spanish one. It is given in the sixth paragraph that Spanish species of dung beetles need a temperate climate to grow. Therefore, it will the correct answer for gap number 9.

Supporting sentence: In the cooler environments of the state of Victoria, the large French species (2.5 cm long) is matched with smaller (half this size), temperate-climate Spanish species.

Keywords: temperate-climate Spanish species.

Location in the passage: Paragraph 6

  1. Answer: Early spring

Explanation: Gap number 10 asks for the start of the active period of the Spanish species. The active period is different for different species. The active period of the Spanish one is stated in the sixth paragraph of the fifth line in the passage. That says that Early Spring is the time when they multiply pretty rapidly and generate two to five generations annually. Therefore, this is the correct answer for this gap.

Supporting sentence: In the cooler environments of the state of Victoria, the large French species (2.5 cm long) is matched with smaller (half this size), temperate-climate Spanish species. The former are slow to recover from the winter cold and produce only one or two generations of offspring from late spring until autumn. The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring, produce two to five generations annually.

Keywords: multiply rapidly in early spring

Location in the passage: Paragraph 6

  1. Answer: 2-5

Explanation: Gap number 10 asks for the number of generations produced per year by the Spanish species. Spanish dung beetles generate two to five generations annually. It is given in the sixth paragraph of the provided reading passage. This particular species is seen to multiply rapidly and in a year, 2-5 generations are seen to have taken birth during the early spring.

Supporting sentence: In the cooler environments of the state of Victoria, the large French species (2.5 cm long) is matched with smaller (half this size), temperate-climate Spanish species. The former are slow to recover from the winter cold and produce only one or two generations of offspring from late spring until autumn. The latter, which multiply rapidly in early spring, produce two to five generations annually.

Keywords: produce two to five generations annually

Location in the passage: Paragraph 6

  1. Answer: subtropical

Explanation: Gap number 12 asks the preferred climate of South African Ball Roller. In the entire passage, the details of different species are mentioned very specifically. The subtropical climate is needed by the South African species dung beetles as it has been told in the passage in paragraph sixth, line sixth. That answers to be a subtropical climate for the beetles in Africa.

Supporting sentence: The South African ball-rolling species, being a subtropical beetle, prefers the climate of northern and coastal New South Wales where it commonly works with the South African tunneling species. In warmer climates, many species are active for longer periods of the year.

Keywords: being a subtropical beetle

Location in the passage: Paragraph 6

  1. Answer: South African tunneling

Explanation: Gap number 13 is about the complementary species of the South African Ball Roller species. Paragraph 6 has a clear mention to the South African tunneling species. These two were closely associated with each other and these two are much similar to each other. Therefore, the correct answer to this question is the South African tunneling species.

Supporting sentence: The South African ball-rolling species, being a subtropical beetle, prefers the climate of northern and coastal New South Wales where it commonly works with the South African tunneling species

Keywords: works with the South African tunneling species

Location in the passage: Paragraph 6

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