Diversity and abundance of dung beetles from cattle grazing lands of Phaltan tahesil district Stara Maharashtra

A survey of dung beetles biodiversity, abundance and composition were studied from cattle grazing lands of Phaltan Tahesil, Satara, Maharashtra during June 2010 to March 2013. Seven sites were selected from Phaltan Tahesil. The beetles were collected from the dung pad and under soil by handpicking method. Dung beetles were then segregated as per species, sampling sites. The present study of dung beetle diversity of Phaltan Tahesil reveals 43 species of beetles belongs to 15 (Fifteen) Genera. The data also shows that the subfamily Coprinae was the dominant subfamily in terms of species richness (32 species) and abundance followed by Aphodiinae (7 species), Scarabaeinae (3 species) and Geotrupidae (1 species). During the study period it was observed that three to four days old dung pads shown richest dung beetle diversity. The predominant genera in this region is Onthophagus (11 species) followed by Aphodius (7 species), Gymnopleurus (6species), Onitis (5 species), Catharsius (3 species), Heliocarpis (2 species) and single species form each genera.