THE ENDANGERED AMERICAN BURYING BEETLE, NICROPHORUS-AMERICANUS OLIVIER, AT THE EDGE OF ITS RANGE IN ARKANSAS (COLEOPTERA, SILPHIDAE)

Surveys conducted during 1992-1996 on the Cold Springs Ranger District of the Ouachita National Forest in west-central Arkansas resulted in the capture of 73 American burying beetles (ABB). Most ABB-positive tr aplines were concentrated along the northern boundary of the district. No ABBs were found in the southern one-half of the study area, and su rveys south of the area in Arkansas have been ABB-negative. Trapping s uccess within the ABB-inhabited area of the district was approximately 0.02 ABB/trap-night during studies conducted in 1994 and 1996, a figu re that may represent a minimum viable population density for the spec ies. Trapping success figures from elsewhere in the region are compare d, and the known distribution of the ABB in Oklahoma and Arkansas is d iscussed.