Temporal variations in dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) assemblages in Kurukshetra, Haryana, India

Temporal variations in the assemblage were studied in the active period of dung beetles in Kurukshetra, Haryana. The beetles were collected by fixing five pitfall bait traps at weekly interval for 24 hrs. Then the collected specimens were identified to species level and counted. A total of 7668 individuals of 23 species belonging to 3 subfamilies (Hybosorinae, Aphodiinae and Scarabaeinae) were collected from the study area. Of the beetles collected, A.campestris was the most abundant. Maximum species (95.65%) and individuals (52.58%) were found during June and minimum species (43.48%) and individuals (0.57%) in April. species richness and abundance was found to increase over the months till June. Then there was some irregularity in their pattern. There were only 6 species found throughout the year and only 3 species found only once during whole the study period. Out of 23 species 43.48% species showed their peak abundance in the month of June. Monthly á-diversity was calculated and found to be maximum in August (2.55). Assemblage size depended on the species richness and individual population, which affected the mean abundance of that particular assemblage.