The immature stages of two dung beetle speciesAllogymnopleurus thalassinusKlug 1855 andAllogymnopleurus consociusPeringuey 1900 were reared in the laboratory in three textural classes of soil under different conditions of soil moisture in order to determine whether differential mortality in different soil types could help explain the strong associations between soil type and beetle abundance in the field. Larvae survived well in dry and moist soil treatments, regardless of soil type, but poorly in wet soil treatments. The effect of soil moisture on the distribution of both species in different soil types is discussed.