Abstract
Dung beetles are important ecological components of natural ecosystems. One primary activity is the fragmentation and recycling of animal dung. Little is known about the ecological impact of beetles associated with the dung of mammals native to Arkansas. We surveyed the dung of native mammals within Arkansas to determine the species and distributional patterns associated with dung. We searched and collected beetles in situ from the dung or nests of native mammalian species within Arkansas. We also set simple pitfall traps using dung of various native Arkansas mammals as bait. Most of the beetles collected were common dung beetles. However, we collected a new state record, Ataenius cylindrus, in dung of white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, and we provide the first report of dung beetles in the dung of river otter, Lontra canadensis.
Recommended Citation
Kelley, J. B.; Hunt, J. L.; and Connior, M. B.
(2013)
"Scarab Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in the Dung of Native Arkansas Mammals,"
Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 67, Article 13.
DOI: 10.54119/jaas.2013.6708
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol67/iss1/13
