When turgor pressure within the subsporangial vesicle builds to a sufficient level (often 7 ATM or greater), the sporangium is launched, and can travel anywhere from a couple of centimeters to a distance of 3 meters (10ft).

[2][3] The orientation of the stalk towards the early morning sun apparently guarantees that the sporangium is shot some distance from the excrement, enhancing the chances that it will attach to vegetation and be eaten by a new host.

Besides serving as a protective mechanism, their hydrophobic nature also leads the sporangium to flip over onto its sticky bottom after landing in a drop of dew, thus allowing it to cling to a plant substrate.

Pilobolus species can be grown in artificial culture, but only when the growth medium is supplemented with some form of chelated iron, or with sterilized herbivore dung.

Larval lungworm nematodes excreted by infected deer, elk, cattle, horses, and other hosts climb up Pilobolus sporangiophores and are discharged with the sporangium.