Surveys for American burying beetles {Nicrophorus americanus Oliver) were conducted in west-central Arkansas on Poteau Ranger District of the Ouachita National Forest in1992 and 1993. A total of 2450 Nicrophorus specimens were captured in1098 trap nights. The most frequently captured specimens were N. orbicollis, N. tomentosus, and N. pustulatus. One specimen of N. americanus was also captures. Other species of beetles were also trapped and identified in this survey. Habitats sampled were primarily well-drained uplands with proposed or recent harvests of shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata). It appears that these habitats may not harbor extensive populations of N. americanus onPoteau RD

Montague, Warren G.

Neal, Joseph C.

Stewart, M. Earl

ScholarWorks@UARK

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of ScienceVolume 48 Article 261994Burying Beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae,Nicrophorus) Surveys on Poteau Ranger District,Ouachita National ForestJoseph C. NealUSDA Forest ServiceM. Earl StewartUSDA Forest ServiceWarren G. MontagueUSDA Forest ServiceFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaasPart of the Entomology CommonsThis article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able toread, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking priorpermission from the publisher or the author.This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academyof Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu.Recommended CitationNeal, Joseph C.; Stewart, M. Earl; and Montague, Warren G. (1994) "Burying Beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae, Nicrophorus) Surveys onPoteau Ranger District, Ouachita National Forest," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 48 , Article 26.Available at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol48/iss1/26127Burying Beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae, Nicrophorus) Surveyson Poteau Ranger District, Ouachita National ForestJoseph C.Neal, M.Earl Stewart and Warren G. MontaguePoteau Range DistrictUSDA Forest ServiceP.O. Box 2255Waldron, AR 72958AbstractSurveys for American burying beetles {Nicrophorus americanus Oliver) were conducted in west-central Arkansas onPoteau Ranger District of the Ouachita National Forest in1992 and 1993. A total of 2450 Nicrophorus specimens were cap-ured in1098 trap nights. The most frequently captured specimens were N. orbicollis, N. tomentosus, and N.pustulatus. Onepecimen of N. americanus was also captures. Other species of beetles were also trapped and identified in this survey.Habitats sampled were primarily well-drained uplands with proposed or recent harvests of shortleaf pine (Pinus echmata).t appears that these habitats may not harbor extensive populations of AT. americanus onPoteau RD.IntroductionThe American burying beetle {Nicrophorus americanusOliver) was added to the Federal list of endangeredpecies in July 1989 (USF&WS, 1991). Beginning inSeptember 1992, Ouachita National Forest (Ouachita NF)districts with historical records of N. americanus weredirected to perform surveys prior to ground-disturbingactivities (e.g., road construction, preparation of sites forree planting) that might affect this species (J.M. Curranetter of Sept. 18, 1992). Surveys were initiated in fall1992 on the Poteau Ranger District (Poteau RD) in west-central Arkansas.Study AreaPoteau RD encompasses 69,659 ha of mixed forestconsisting primarily of shortleaf pine {Pinus echinata) andvarious hardwood species in Scott, Polk, and Sebastiancounties of west-central Arkansas. Most of these publicands are located on rugged uplands of east-west trendingridges typical of the Ouachitas. Ingeneral the cool northslopes favor hardwoods, while the warmer south slopesand ridge tops favor shortleaf pine. Privately-owned farm-and occupies most extensive bottomlands within the>oundaries of Poteau RD.Trap lines were established on Poteau RD where pro-ects were proposed that would involve various ground-disturbing activities including: 1) harvest of shortleaf pinetimber, 2) construction of temporary roads to provideaccess to the harvest areas, 3) revegetation of eroded cut-over lands recently acquired by the Forest Service, and 4)various wildlife-related projects, including pond construc-tion. Most of these activities occurred in well-drainedareas with tree stands currently dominated by shortleafpine or that were dominated by pine prior to recent har-vest. No beetle trapping occurred on north-facing hard-wood dominated stands, inbottomland pastures, or inopen grasslands.MethodsSurveys for American burying beetles were conductedon Poteau RD in Scott County from 7-13 October 1992,and from 22 June- 10 September 1993. In 1992 surveystotalled 351 trap nights; in 1993, 747 trap nights (onetrap night-one baited pitfall trap inplace for beetle trap-ping for one night).Methods used were similar to nonlethal baited pitfalltraps described in the recovery plan for N. americanus(USF&WS, 1991). Apit was formed by a single 16 ounceplastic cup set in the ground with the lip of the cup atground level; a second cup was inserted into the first cupto facilitate removing trapped beetles. In 1992 and at thebeginning of 1992, chicken gizzard bait was placed in thebottom of the second cup and the trap was covered witharock or bark. This method was modified in 1993 with baitplaced in a 1-2 ounce sauce cup suspended with flexiblewire over the 16 ounce cup. The baited trap was coveredby lids cut from plastic one gallon bleach jugs that wereapproximately 10 cm inheight by approximately 15 cm indiameter. The lids were weighted with small stones orlimbs. A severe thunderstorm blew the lid off one trap,causing the trap to fillwith water; thereafter, small127Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 48 [1994], Art. 26Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1994-128drainage holes (diameter =2 mm) were made in the bot-tomof all cups. Traps were checked for three consecutivemornings following the set-up day (for an equivalent ofthree trap nights).In 1992 and at the beginning of 1993, frozen baitswere thawed, then placed in an outdoor container andallowed to spoil for 2-4 days. Later in 1993 thawed baits(or unfrozen, fresh baits) were held in a cooler with ice toprevent rapid deterioration during intense summer heat.Configuration of trap lines varied according to topog-raphy and proposed resource management project thatprompted the survey. Pitfalls were often set 74 - 122 mapart on proposed road construction rights-of-way, allow-ing survey of the entire corridor. Shorter trap lines, withpitfalls 46 - 61 m apart, were set inother areas, such asthose planned for control of soil erosion. Survey lineswere within approximately 800 mof the project area.Specimens of Nicrophorus and other beetles were iden-tified in the field. Field identification was based upon pre-served specimens that had been sent out for examination(see Acknowledgements). Many relatively small beetleswere not identified in the field; these were entered ondata sheets as "beetle species."ResultsIn1992 and 1993, 2450 specimens of Nicrophorus werecaptured in 1098 trap nights. N. orbicollis and N. tomento-sus accounted for >90 percent of the total (Table 1). N.pustulatus, N.marginatus, and N.americanus were also cap-tured in small numbers. A male N. americanus wastrapped in compartment 1281, approximately 16 kmsouthwest of Waldron, in Scott County, Arkansas, on 5August 1993. Habitat at the capture site was a mixedstand of mature trees dominated by shortleaf pine adja-cent a recently harvested stand in early regeneration(grasses, forbs, and seedling trees). In the same cup withN. americanus were four N.orbicollis and two Canthon sp.Table 1. Captures per trap night of Nicrophorus sp. beetlesonPoteau RD, Ouachita NF, 1992-1993.351 Trap Nights 747 Trap Nights1992 1993Species1.66 2.04N. orbicollisV. tomentosusN.pustulatusV. marginatusV. americanus1.29 0.050.50<0.01<0.010.02<0.01<0.01Table 2. Sample of beetles attracted to ripened gizzardbait, Poteau RD, Ouachita NF, 1992-1993. Results are pre-sented as captures per trap night.186 Trap Nights 159 Trap NightsSpecies 199319920.850.53Deltochilum gibbosumCanthon sp.Necrodes surinamensisTrox sp.Necrophila americanaGeotrupes sp.0.27 0.480.380.020.140.090.070.060.060.01Other species of beetles were frequently trapped. Asample of these captures is present in Table 2. Specimensof the Scarabaeidae (especially Deltochilum gibbosum andCanthon sp.) were often identified in these samples. Otherspecimens regularly captured included Trox sp., Geotrupessp. (Scarabaeidae) and other carrion beetles (e.g.Necrophila americana, Necrodes surinamensis). Rove beetles(Family Staphylinidae: e.g. Creophilus maxillosus) and his-ter beetles (Histeridae: e.g. Ateuchus histeroides) were occa-sionally common.DiscussionBeetle surveys on Poteau RD varied seasonally andnumerically between the two years (Table 1). While captures per trap night of N. orbicollis were similar betweenthe two years, the capture rates for N. tomentosus and N.pustulatus were numerically dissimilar. Nicrophorus tomen-tosus is reproductively active in the fall (Wilson andFudge, 1984), which likely explains why the trapping inOctober 1992 resulted in a higher rate of capture as com-pared to the summer trapping in 1993. Nicrophorus pustu-latus is a woodland species active throughout the summer,but it seems very sensitive to a lack of moisture (K.Stephan, pers. comm.) Unlike October 1992 the 1993trapping season was droughts from 27 June - 1August,with 0.4 cm of rainfall and temperatures ranging from 33to 39 degrees C (Poteau RD weather data). Five surveysduring this period resulted in the capture of 161Nicrophorus sp. in 258 trap nights, or 0.6 beetles per trapnight, a rate lower than overall results for the two years(Table 1).Pitfall traps baited with ripened carrion serve as apowerful attractant to carrion beetles, includingNicrophorus sp. (USF&WS, 1991), but ripening bait morethan two days under very warm conditions during sum-Proceedings Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol.48, 1994128Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 48 [1994], Art. 26http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol48/iss1/26129mer in western Arkansas may reduce the value of the baitas an attractant. On Poteau RD the fresh chicken gizzardbait changed from pink (relatively fresh, slight odor, fewor no maggots), to gray (rotting, strong odor, small mag-gots), to black (putrid, overwhelming odor, numerouslarge maggots). These changes occurred slowly during thecool, fall weather of 1992, and quickly during the hotweather of1993.Bait in the pink to gray condition was effective inattracting Nicrophorus sp., but as the bait advanced towardthe black, putrid condition, fewer Nicrophorus sp. wereattracted, and there was an increase in Necrodes surinamen-is, Trox sp. and other species. Deltochilum gibbosum wasttracted at all stages of bait ripening, but numbersncreased as the bait approached the gray and blacktages. In 1993 Geotrupes sp. appeared most frequentlywith highest numbers ofNicrophorus. Necrophila americanaid not seem to appear until the bait reached the graytage. The apparent preference of Nicrophorus sp. for baitn the pink to gray condition may confer an adaptivedvantage to the insects by allowing early colonizationnd thereby maximizing the nutritional resources avail-Die to larvae (May, 1993; C. Carlton, pers. comm.).A relatively large population of these beetles has beenocumented at Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas, in habitats charac-erized as grasslands and open oak and oak-hickory wood-ands or "oak savannas" (U. S. Army, 1993). Sinceeptember 1992, N. americanus has been captured on fouranger districts of the Ouachita NF in western Arkansasnd eastern Oklahoma (Frazier, 1993; filedata, OuachitaF). Most captures occurred on the Tiak RD inMcCurtain County, Oklahoma, and on the Cold SpringsID inLogan and Scott counties, Arkansas. Therefore,;spite declining elsewhere inNorth America (USF&WS,)91), a population persists along the eastern deciduous-estern prairie econtone inwestern Arkansas and easternklahoma.The capture of N. americanus in compartment 1281 of'oteau RD in Scott County, Arkansas, was the only cap-ure during surveys involving 25 of 127 district compart-ents. The closest other captures were more than 30 kmortheast and west (file data, Ouachita NF). The capturen Poteau RD provided an additional link in the currentange of this species in the western Arkansas-easternklahoma prairie-forest ecotone.Very little open, park-like oak-hickory forest and opengrassland occurs within Forest Service boundaries onPoteau RD. It appears that typical well-drained uplandsites most suitable for growth of shortleaf pine may havelimited potential for populations ofN. americanus.IFinally, no action taken by the US Forest Service mayopardize critical habitat of federally listed species)uachita NF, 1990). These surveys satisfied that legalquirement. In addition, the surveys provided an oppor-tunity to collect data on carrion beetles, an otherwise lit-tle-studied component of the Ouachita ecosystem.AcknowledgementsBeetle identifications and careful readings of an earli-er version of this manuscript were provided by KarlStephen of Red Oak, Oklahoma, and Chris Carlton fromthe Department of Entomology, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. J. McLemore, F. Rothwein, M. Lichtler, R.Bastarache, and J. Mawk (all from the USDA ForestService) shared data about beetle trapping and distribu-tion on other Ouachita NF districts. K. Piles, L. Shores, J.Ridenhour, and H. Johnson assisted on Poteau RD sur-veys. Chicken gizzards were donated by the Tyson Foodspoultry processing plant in Waldron.Literature CitedFrazier, K.1993. Current status of the American buryingbeetle within the midwest geographical recovery area.USF &WS, Div.Ecol. Serv., Tulsa, Oklahoma (letterJan. 20, 1993).May, M.1993. Coleopteran child care. American Scientist81: 20-22.Ouachita National Forest. 1990. Amended Land andResource Management Plan. USDA, Forest Service.HotSprings, Arkansas.U.S. Department of the Army. 1993. Biological assess-ment: for the American burying beetle at FortChaffee, Arkansas. 21 pp.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1991. American buryingbeetle {Nicrophorus americanus) Recovery Plan. Newtoncorner, Massachusetts, 80 pp.Wilson, D.S. andj. Fudge. 1984. Burying beetles:intraspecific interactions and reproductive success inthe field.Ecol. Entomol. 9:195-203.Proceedings Arkansas Academy ofScience, Vol.48, 1994129Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 48 [1994], Art. 26Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1994

Burying Beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae, Nicrophorus) Surveys on Poteau Ranger District, Ouachita National Forest

UARK (University of Arkansas )

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science Volume 48 Article 26 1994 Burying Beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae, Nicrophorus) Surveys on Poteau Ranger District, Ouachita National Forest Joseph C. Neal USDA Forest Service M. Earl Stewart USDA Forest Service Warren G. Montague USDA Forest Service Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Neal, Joseph C.; Stewart, M. Earl; and Montague, Warren G. (1994) "Burying Beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae, Nicrophorus) Surveys on Poteau Ranger District, Ouachita National Forest," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 48 , Article 26. Available at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol48/iss1/26 This article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able to read, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu. 127Burying Beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae, Nicrophorus) Surveyson Poteau Ranger District, Ouachita National ForestJoseph C.Neal, M.Earl Stewart and Warren G. MontaguePoteau Range DistrictUSDA Forest ServiceP.O. Box 2255Waldron, AR 72958AbstractSurveys for American burying beetles {Nicrophorus americanus Oliver) were conducted in west-central Arkansas onPoteau Ranger District of the Ouachita National Forest in1992 and 1993. A total of 2450Nicrophorus specimens were cap-ured in1098 trap nights. The most frequently captured specimens were N. orbicollis, N. tomentosus, and N.pustulatus. Onepecimen of N. americanus was also captures. Other species of beetles were also trapped and identified in this survey.Habitats sampled were primarily well-drained uplands with proposed or recent harvests of shortleaf pine (Pinus echmata).t appears that these habitats may not harbor extensive populations of AT. americanus onPoteau RD.IntroductionThe American burying beetle {Nicrophorus americanusOliver) was added to the Federal list of endangeredpecies in July 1989 (USF&WS, 1991). Beginning inSeptember 1992, Ouachita National Forest (Ouachita NF)districts with historical records of N. americanus weredirected to perform surveys prior to ground-disturbingactivities (e.g., road construction, preparation of sites forree planting) that might affect this species (J.M. Curranetter of Sept. 18, 1992). Surveys were initiated in fall1992 on the Poteau Ranger District (Poteau RD) in west-central Arkansas.Study AreaPoteau RD encompasses 69,659 ha of mixed forestconsisting primarily of shortleaf pine {Pinus echinata) andvarious hardwood species in Scott, Polk, and Sebastiancounties of west-central Arkansas. Most of these publicands are located on rugged uplands of east-west trendingridges typical of the Ouachitas. Ingeneral the cool northslopes favor hardwoods, while the warmer south slopesand ridge tops favor shortleaf pine. Privately-owned farm-and occupies most extensive bottomlands within the>oundaries of Poteau RD.Trap lines were established on Poteau RD where pro-ects were proposed that would involve various ground-disturbing activities including: 1) harvest of shortleaf pinetimber, 2) construction of temporary roads to provideaccess to the harvest areas, 3) revegetation of eroded cut-over lands recently acquired by the Forest Service, and 4)various wildlife-related projects, including pond construc-tion. Most of these activities occurred in well-drainedareas with tree stands currently dominated by shortleafpine or that were dominated by pine prior to recent har-vest. No beetle trapping occurred on north-facing hard-wood dominated stands, inbottomland pastures, or inopen grasslands.MethodsSurveys for American burying beetles were conductedon Poteau RD in Scott County from 7-13 October 1992,and from 22 June-10 September 1993. In 1992 surveystotalled 351 trap nights; in 1993, 747 trap nights (onetrap night-one baited pitfall trap inplace for beetle trap-ping for one night).Methods used were similar to nonlethal baited pitfalltraps described in the recovery plan for N. americanus(USF&WS, 1991). Apit was formed by a single 16 ounceplastic cup set in the ground with the lip of the cup atground level; a second cup was inserted into the first cupto facilitate removing trapped beetles. In 1992 and at thebeginning of 1992, chicken gizzard bait was placed in thebottom of the second cup and the trap was covered witharock or bark. This method was modified in 1993 with baitplaced in a 1-2 ounce sauce cup suspended with flexiblewire over the 16 ounce cup. The baited trap was coveredby lids cut from plastic one gallon bleach jugs that wereapproximately 10 cm inheight by approximately 15 cm indiameter. The lids were weighted with small stones orlimbs. A severe thunderstorm blew the lid off one trap,causing the trap to fillwith water; thereafter, small127Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 48 [1994], Art. 26Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1994-128drainage holes (diameter =2 mm) were made in the bot-tomof all cups. Traps were checked for three consecutivemornings following the set-up day (for an equivalent ofthree trap nights).In 1992 and at the beginning of 1993, frozen baitswere thawed, then placed in an outdoor container andallowed to spoil for 2-4 days. Later in 1993 thawed baits(or unfrozen, fresh baits) were held in a cooler with ice toprevent rapid deterioration during intense summer heat.Configuration of trap lines varied according to topog-raphy and proposed resource management project thatprompted the survey. Pitfalls were often set 74-122 mapart on proposed road construction rights-of-way, allow-ing survey of the entire corridor. Shorter trap lines, withpitfalls 46-61 m apart, were set inother areas, such asthose planned for control of soil erosion. Survey lineswere within approximately 800 mof the project area.Specimens of Nicrophorus and other beetles were iden-tified in the field. Field identification was based upon pre-served specimens that had been sent out for examination(see Acknowledgements). Many relatively small beetleswere not identified in the field; these were entered ondata sheets as "beetle species."ResultsIn1992 and 1993, 2450 specimens of Nicrophorus werecaptured in 1098 trap nights. N. orbicollis and N. tomento-sus accounted for >90 percent of the total (Table 1). N.pustulatus, N.marginatus, and N.americanus were also cap-tured in small numbers. A male N. americanus wastrapped in compartment 1281, approximately 16 kmsouthwest of Waldron, in Scott County, Arkansas, on 5August 1993. Habitat at the capture site was a mixedstand of mature trees dominated by shortleaf pine adja-cent a recently harvested stand in early regeneration(grasses, forbs, and seedling trees). In the same cup withN. americanus were four N.orbicollis and two Canthon sp.Table 1. Captures per trap night of Nicrophorus sp. beetlesonPoteau RD, Ouachita NF, 1992-1993.351 Trap Nights 747 Trap Nights1992 1993Species1.66 2.04N. orbicollisV. tomentosusN.pustulatusV. marginatusV. americanus1.29 0.050.50<0.01<0.010.02<0.01<0.01Table 2. Sample of beetles attracted to ripened gizzardbait, Poteau RD, Ouachita NF, 1992-1993. Results are pre-sented as captures per trap night.186 Trap Nights 159 Trap NightsSpecies 199319920.850.53Deltochilum gibbosumCanthon sp.Necrodes surinamensisTrox sp.Necrophila americanaGeotrupes sp.0.27 0.480.380.020.140.090.070.060.060.01Other species of beetles were frequently trapped. Asample of these captures is present in Table 2. Specimensof the Scarabaeidae (especially Deltochilum gibbosum andCanthon sp.) were often identified in these samples. Otherspecimens regularly captured included Trox sp., Geotrupessp. (Scarabaeidae) and other carrion beetles (e.g.Necrophila americana, Necrodes surinamensis). Rove beetles(Family Staphylinidae: e.g. Creophilus maxillosus) and his-ter beetles (Histeridae: e.g. Ateuchus histeroides) were occa-sionally common.DiscussionBeetle surveys on Poteau RD varied seasonally andnumerically between the two years (Table 1). While captures per trap night of N. orbicollis were similar betweenthe two years, the capture rates for N. tomentosus and N.pustulatus were numerically dissimilar. Nicrophorus tomen-tosus is reproductively active in the fall (Wilson andFudge, 1984), which likely explains why the trapping inOctober 1992 resulted in a higher rate of capture as com-pared to the summer trapping in 1993. Nicrophorus pustu-latus is a woodland species active throughout the summer,but it seems very sensitive to a lack of moisture (K.Stephan, pers. comm.) Unlike October 1992 the 1993trapping season was droughts from 27 June-1August,with 0.4 cm of rainfall and temperatures ranging from 33to 39 degrees C (Poteau RD weather data). Five surveysduring this period resulted in the capture of 161Nicrophorus sp. in 258 trap nights, or 0.6 beetles per trapnight, a rate lower than overall results for the two years(Table 1).Pitfall traps baited with ripened carrion serve as apowerful attractant to carrion beetles, includingNicrophorus sp. (USF&WS, 1991), but ripening bait morethan two days under very warm conditions during sum-Proceedings Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol.48, 1994128Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 48 [1994], Art. 26https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol48/iss1/26129mer in western Arkansas may reduce the value of the baitas an attractant. On Poteau RD the fresh chicken gizzardbait changed from pink (relatively fresh, slight odor, fewor no maggots), to gray (rotting, strong odor, small mag-gots), to black (putrid, overwhelming odor, numerouslarge maggots). These changes occurred slowly during thecool, fall weather of 1992, and quickly during the hotweather of1993.Bait in the pink to gray condition was effective inattracting Nicrophorus sp., but as the bait advanced towardthe black, putrid condition, fewer Nicrophorus sp. wereattracted, and there was an increase in Necrodes surinamen-is, Trox sp. and other species. Deltochilum gibbosum wasttracted at all stages of bait ripening, but numbersncreased as the bait approached the gray and blacktages. In 1993 Geotrupes sp. appeared most frequentlywith highest numbers ofNicrophorus. Necrophila americanaid not seem to appear until the bait reached the graytage. The apparent preference of Nicrophorus sp. for baitn the pink to gray condition may confer an adaptivedvantage to the insects by allowing early colonizationnd thereby maximizing the nutritional resources avail-Die to larvae (May, 1993; C. Carlton, pers. comm.).A relatively large population of these beetles has beenocumented at Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas, in habitats charac-erized as grasslands and open oak and oak-hickory wood-ands or "oak savannas" (U. S. Army, 1993). Sinceeptember 1992, N. americanus has been captured on fouranger districts of the Ouachita NF in western Arkansasnd eastern Oklahoma (Frazier, 1993; filedata, OuachitaF). Most captures occurred on the Tiak RD inMcCurtain County, Oklahoma, and on the Cold SpringsIDinLogan and Scott counties, Arkansas. Therefore,;spite declining elsewhere inNorth America (USF&WS,)91), a population persists along the eastern deciduous-estern prairie econtone inwestern Arkansas and easternklahoma.The capture of N. americanus in compartment 1281 of'oteau RD in Scott County, Arkansas, was the only cap-ure during surveys involving 25 of 127 district compart-ents. The closest other captures were more than 30 kmortheast and west (file data, Ouachita NF). The capturen Poteau RD provided an additional link in the currentange of this species in the western Arkansas-easternklahoma prairie-forest ecotone.Very little open, park-like oak-hickory forest and opengrassland occurs within Forest Service boundaries onPoteau RD. It appears that typical well-drained uplandsites most suitable for growth of shortleaf pine may havelimited potential for populations ofN. americanus.IFinally, no action taken by the US Forest Service mayopardize critical habitat of federally listed species)uachita NF, 1990). These surveys satisfied that legalquirement. In addition, the surveys provided an oppor-tunity to collect data on carrion beetles, an otherwise lit-tle-studied component of the Ouachita ecosystem.AcknowledgementsBeetle identifications and careful readings of an earli-er version of this manuscript were provided by KarlStephen of Red Oak, Oklahoma, and Chris Carlton fromthe Department of Entomology, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. J. McLemore, F. Rothwein, M. Lichtler, R.Bastarache, and J. Mawk (all from the USDA ForestService) shared data about beetle trapping and distribu-tion on other Ouachita NF districts. K. Piles, L. Shores, J.Ridenhour, and H. Johnson assisted on Poteau RD sur-veys. Chicken gizzards were donated by the Tyson Foodspoultry processing plant in Waldron.Literature CitedFrazier, K.1993. Current status of the American buryingbeetle within the midwest geographical recovery area.USF &WS, Div.Ecol. Serv., Tulsa, Oklahoma (letterJan. 20, 1993).May, M.1993. Coleopteran child care. American Scientist81: 20-22.Ouachita National Forest. 1990. Amended Land andResource Management Plan. USDA, Forest Service.HotSprings, Arkansas.U.S. Department of the Army. 1993. Biological assess-ment: for the American burying beetle at FortChaffee, Arkansas. 21 pp.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1991. American buryingbeetle {Nicrophorus americanus) Recovery Plan. Newtoncorner, Massachusetts, 80 pp.Wilson, D.S. andj. Fudge. 1984. Burying beetles:intraspecific interactions and reproductive success inthe field.Ecol. Entomol. 9:195-203.Proceedings Arkansas Academy ofScience, Vol.48, 1994129Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 48 [1994], Art. 26Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1994

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Burying Beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae, Nicrophorus) Surveys on Poteau Ranger District, Ouachita National Forest

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