"I think night-flying moths and night-flying locusts could benefit from using a star compass similar to the one that the dungbeetles are using, " she said.
Scientists at the University of Lund, Sweden, "found that dungbeetles can transport their dung balls along straight paths under a starlit sky, but lose the ability under overcast conditions".
Dr Dacke had previously shown that dungbeetles were able to keep a straight line by taking cues from the Sun, the Moon, and even the pattern of polarised light formed around these light sources.
Mr Parzer and Dr Moczek looked at beetles from the east and west of Australia (where it was deliberately introduced to deal with the dung of non-native livestock) and North Carolina, together with an aboriginal population from Italy.