The fauna of Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) was sampled using pitfall traps baited with human excrement and rotten fish in forest fragments in Silveira Martins, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from November 2010 to January 2011. A total of 1,611 individuals were sampled, belonging to six tribes, 11 genera and 28 species. The most abundant species were Canthon latipes Blanchard, 1845 (49.9%), C. chalybaeus Blanchard, 1845 (13.9%), Deltochilum sculpturatum Felsche, 1907 (4.9%), and Eurysternus caribaeus (Herbst, 1789) (4.3%), which accounted for 73% of the total individuals captured. Traps baited with human excrement captured a higher number of species than those baited with rotten fish. There was no statistically significant difference between the kinds of baits used in relation to the abundance of Scarabaeinae. Most of Scarabaeinae species was represented by generalist feeding habits and tunneler behavior. The community sampled follows the general patterns of trophic and behavioral structure of Scarabaeinae found throughout the Neotropical region.
Food preference; coprophagous beetle; necrophagous beetle; south of Brazil
