Abstract

Coprophilous Hydrophilidae were sampled from June 2010 to May 2011 using baited pitfall traps in 14 localities at different altitudes (469m-1810m) in Kütahya, western Turkey. As a result of the study, a total of 668 samples belonging to 5 species were identified. The identified specimens are Sphaeridium bipustulatum Fabricius, 1781, S. lunatum Fabricius, 1792, S. marginatum Fabricius, 1787, S. scarabaeoides (Linnaeus, 1758) and S. substriatum Faldermann, 1838, among which S. lunatum is recorded from Turkey for the first time. S. bipustulatum and S. marginatum, which made up 80.69% of all collected beetles determined as eudominante. The highest number of specimens was obtained from December to April meaning that the Sphaeridium community in the study area reached its highest number in winter and spring.