SEASONAL ACTIVITY OF DUNG BEETLES (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEIDAE) ASSOCIATED WITH CATTLE DUNG IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA AND THEIR GEOGRAPHIC-DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA

Dung beetles (Scarabaeidae) were pitfall trapped at two sites in south ern Alberta from 1993 to 1995. A 3-year total of 156 500 specimens rep resenting 17 species was collected. Local assemblages were dominated, in descending order, by the exotic species Onthophagus muchicornis (Li nne), Aphodius prodromus (Brahm), Aphodius distinctus (O.F. Muller), a nd Aphodius fimetarius (Linne). Aphodius vitatus Say was the most comm on native species. Although adults were collected from mid-March to mi d-November, the activity of individual species either peaked in the sp ring and again in the fall, or peaked once in spring to midsummer. Map s showing the Canadian distributions for 15 of these species were comp iled from examination of collections and published records and identif y 10 new provincial records. Most distributions are transcontinental, with the distribution of O. nuchicornis likely expanding only in the l ast 20-30 years to include Alberta and Saskatchewan. Aphodius erraticu s (Linne) and Aphodius ruricola Melsheimer have not been previously re ported from British Columbia. Aphodius pinguellus W.J. Brown, Canthon praticola LeConte, and Aphodius coloradensis Horn are restricted to we stern Canada.