This beetle navigates by the stars

(TELEGRAPH) — A tiny-brained African beetle is the first insect known to navigate by the stars, using the light of the Milky Way to guide it through the dark.

Like sailors of old and Saharan nomads, the scarab can orientate itself by watching the sky.

On clear nights, a myriad of stars shine over the deserts and savannahs where the beetle makes its home.

The scarab, or dung beetle, uses the light of the Milky Way to keep it on a straight course, scientists found.