Composicao e diversidade de Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) atraidos por armadilha de luz em area rural no norte do Parana, Brasil

The most devastated environments in the State of Paraná are those with great agricultural potential, and most human interference actions on the environment are seldom preceded by a careful study of the fauna, which would reveal the diversity and abundance of animals in these areas. This study aimed to describe the Scarabaeoidea fauna attracted by light traps in rural areas of the Tamarana County, Paraná, Brazil, and to contribute to the ecological knowledge on species of this group. The sampling was carried out quarterly, from March 2002 to April 2003, in two rural properties, using a modified “Luiz de Queiroz” light trap. The light traps captured 2447 specimens, distributed into 10 families, 24 genera and 67 species. The three most abundant species were also the most frequent: Aphodius lividus (Olivier, 1789), Melolonthidae sp. 1 e Ataenius sp. 5. The highest A. lividus population density occurred in April, fall season, whereas Melolonthidae sp. 1 and Ataeucus were most frequently found in Octubre and November, spring. The majority of the species were represented by few individuals (H'= 1,74), and the distribution of individuals species was relatively uniform (J'= 0,95; S=0,20). A large number of families was recorded, and they were represented by few individuals. There was a predominance of families of detritivores - Aphodiidae, Scarabaeidae, Hybosoridae and phytophagus - Melolonthidae, Dynastidae and Rutilidae. The study collected 25 detritivore species among the 1422 specimen recorded.