IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FOR PURE & APPL. S CI VOL.23 (1) 2010 Seasonal Abundance of Adult Beetles Species on the Exposed Carcasses in Baghdad City M .S . Abdul – Rassoul , R. SH. Augul , H. H. Al – Saffar Iraq Natural History Museum, Unive rsity of Baghdad Abstract Beetles sp ecimens were collected from exp osed animal carcasses in Baghdad city ; and p repared for farther taxonomic st udy . The invest igation st arted from February2006 till January 2007.The results obtained showed that beetles could be collected during late winter to early autumn with variation of their p op ulation density at different seasons. The majority of the collected sp ecies were abundant during sp ring and early summer. In this invest igation, four sp ecies confined to three families were identified. The sp ecies Saprinus sp . 1 (family : Hist eridae) was the most abundant followed by Dermestes maculates De Geer ( family : Dermest idae ) , while Saprinus sp . 2 and Necrobia rufipes (De Geer) (family : Cleridae ) were the least abundant sp ecies . Introduction Necrophagous insects, mainly Coleop tera , are att racted to sp ecific st ages of carcasses decomposition, in p rocess of faunist ic succession [ 1 ] , these animals feed , live or breed in and on the corp se , depending on their biological p references and on the state of decomposition [2 , 3 ] .The Knowledge of this succession is an imp ortant tool in forensic st udies to estimate the interval since death from the sp ecies of organisms is found on t he body [4]. The habits of beetles , are extremely varied such as various decaying animals , dung and carrion [ 5 ] , M any ty p es of beetles are att racted to carcasses such as ; Hist eridae , Dermest idae , and Cleridae [ 6 , 7] . The Hist eridae are a large family , of comp act hard, shining beetles with geniculate and st rongly clubbed antennae, The ely tra are truncated behind leaving the two apical segments exp osed, for the most p art t hey are black or brown insects, But in some cases t he ely tra are marked with red, and a few sp ecies are metallic [5] . The prost ernum is very imp ortant in the taxonomy of Hist eridae. The central region, which is usually somewhat p rominent, is the p rost enal keel. Some sp ecies show p airs of st rinae on the keel, the carinal st riae, located toward the middle, and the lateral st riae, Some sp ecies of sap rininae also bear a p air of fovea in the anterior p art of the keel , referred to as the p reap ical foveae , several sp ecies of Hist eridae have in front of the p rost ernal keel a lobe called the p rost ernal lobe which extend laterally [8].The sp ecies of; Saprinus foveisternus Schm. ,S.interruptus Pay kull and S.ornatus Erichson were found in Iraq [9] . Dermest id beetles ( Fam.: Dermest idae ) , an elongate broadly oval , covered with scales or hairs , black or brownish , sometimes p att erned , antennae short , clubbed ,fitting in grooves below sides of p ronotum , dermestids feed on a great many things such as animals decompositions and storages skins [ 6 , 10]. On t he other hand, the family Cleridae (checkered beetles) are often highly colored with intricate patt erns, they are small to medium in size, often cylindrical and usually hairy [10]. IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FOR PURE & APPL. S CI VOL.23 (1) 2010 Adults body of checkered beetles, elongate – narrow with long erect p ubescence, p ronotum narrower than forewing, head usually as wide as or wider than p ronotum, antennae variously clubbed or threadlike 3- 24 segments. Some adults and a few larvae are p ollen feeders , one sp ecies ; the Red - legged Ham beetle , Necrobia rufipes ( De Geer ) , is destructive to st ored meats ,and the adult are found near sp oiled fish and dead animals in the field [ 6 ]. The adults of N. rufipes are found on dried fish, skins and bones of dead animals and other carrion where they are sap rop hagous and p redaceous [7] .T his sp ecies was recorded in Iraq [ 11 ] . Because of rare information about those sp ecies of Iraq, this invest igation is suggested to know beetles sp ecies which are att racted to exp osed carcasses in Baghdad city . Materials and Methodes A survey of adult beetles was undertaken during the p eriod of Feb. 2006 to Jan.2007, using decomposed fish and rabbit carcasses p laced in the garden of Iraq Natural History M useum – Bab-Almudham. The rabbits were killed by using chloroform; the carcasses were p laced together in a metal cage and exp osed to direct sunlight [12], This method is replicated monthly . Collection and samples were p erformed randomly among the carcasses. Adult beetles were cap tured by forcep s and put in test tubes, and the sampling were killed by freezing and mounted on entomological p ins. The sp ecimens were identified by numerous taxonomical keys [6, 8], and the sampling comp ared with sp ecimens which they st ore in Iraq Natural Hist ory M useum to assured identification. Resultes Adult beetles collected on exp osed carcasses (fish and rabbit) during the p eriod of invest igation from the garden of Iraq Natural Hist ory Museum were found to belong to different three families. Their seasonal abundance and the relative annual abundance wer e given in table (1) and figur e (1), while the results in table (2) showed the temp eratures and relative humidity that recorded in Baghdad city during invest igation period. The three families were as follows: (I) family Hist eridae: Two sp ecies were collected; these were: Saprinus sp .1 : It st arted with low numbers during February , then st eadily increased during the next three months , followed by decline from July to September , then again increased during October. No beetles were collected during November to January. The p op ulation showed one peak during early summer; on the other hand, the p op ulation was the lowest during August . Saprinus sp . 2: The numbers cap tures of this sp ecies were f luctuated during the invest igation p eriod which were the high est in Jun and the lowest in October. No beetles were collected during February, M arch, M ay , July , August , September, November, December and January. (II) Family Dermest idae : Only one sp ecies was collected : Dermestes macul atus De Geer ; its seasonal abundance showed a h igh p eak during late sp ring and early summer . Anot her, but much lower p eak was noticed during M arch, July and October. No beetles could be co llected during August , September, November, December and January. (III) Family Cleridae : Only one sp ecies was collected : Necrobia rufi pes ( De Geer ) : Beetles were abundant during sp ring , the highest p eak was reached in M ay , the lowest p eak was in M arch and October . No beetles could be collected during Febru ary, July , August , September, November, Decemb er and January. IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FOR PURE & APPL. S CI VOL.23 (1) 2010 The results showed that relative annual abundance of these families was; 79.87, 13.98 and 6.15 % resp ectively. Disscussion A summary of the relative annual abundance of the collected sp ecies of Coleoptera in the garden of Iraq Natural History Museum on exp osed carcasses is given in figur e -1. These results showed different seasonal abundance of beetles. In the p resent study , Hist eridae was most abundant during period from February to October compared with Dermest idae and Cler idae . The occurrence of these beetles is as follows: Hist eridae and Cler idae, resp ectively in sp ring, while Hist eridae, Dermest idae and Cler idae during sum mer, also during fall. In winter, Hist eridae sp ecies were the only sp ecies observed [4], which in general are in an agr eement with our results. While the adult Hist eridae, Dermest idae and Cleridae were collected on p ig carcass during August and September [13]. In the p resent studay ; Saprinus sp . 1 was collected at its highest rate during June ( mean temp erature 25.5 C o min . &44.2 C o max . & 20% r. h .) ,wher ease its lowest was in Au gust ( at 26.5 C o min. & 42.7 C o max . & 33% r.h.). On t he other hand, Saprinus sp .2 was very scarce in this invest igation. The sp ecies of Saprinus chalcites ( Illiger ) was found on exp osed carcass in summer ; whereas in winter , the family was well represented by Saprinus subnitesc ens Bickhardt and S . chaleites. In sp ring, only Saprinus subnitescens and S . semipunctatus (Fab.) were present on carcass [ 14 ], whereas Koller et al. [15] found that the larger p op ulation levels of Hist eridae were observed from October to M ay and from 17 July to 2 October ; Saprinus aeneus appeared on carcass at rate of 1.48% (45, 20 sp ecimens in July and August resp ectively) [16] . Also Centeno et al. [4] found that Saprinus sp . have a high lev el in summer ( at mean temp erature of 41.75 C o ) and the lowest level was in winter ( at 23.8 C o ). M eanwhile, Oliva and Ravioli [17] noticed that Saprinus patagonicus was app eared in small numbers during M arch (at temp erature below 22 C o ) The sp ecies of Dermestes maculatus (Dermest idae ) was recorded in Iraq [18] .In this st udy , this sp ecies was app eared in high number in June , whereas it was found in the lowest number in M arch , July and October . According to Az ab et al. [19] the best condition for rearing D. maculatus adult stages was 21.5 C o and 64.8% r.h. during autumn , while, at 28.2 C o and 61.6% r.h. in summer was given short est longevities. The D. maculatus on ly reaches full development when the temp erature remains constant at above 18 C o (20), also Dermestes maculatus was found on p ig car cass in summer and rain fall season at mean temp erature 18.73 C o &41. 75 C o resp ectively [4], while Iannacone [16] in his st udy on p ig carcass (17 July to 2 October) found that D. maculatus was more abundant comp ared with other sp ecies. The adult D. maculatus was collected on p ig car cass during Au gust and September [13], also the sp ecies was found feeding on meat exp osed in June [21]. Adult of Dermestes spp . associated with man cadaver in M arch (at t emp erature below 22 C o ) [17]. On other hand , Cleridae sp ecies was found in the p resent study , rep resented by Necrobia rufipes on exp osed carcasses , in high numbers during M ay ( 22.5 C o min & 38.2 C o max & 33% r.h. ) ; whereas its lowest was in M arch ( 11.5 C o min & 26.6 C o max & 43% r.h. ) , Also the results indicated that there is no p resence of beetles at hot and cold seasons . The previous studies ; found that Cleridae sp ecies (Necrobia spp . ) , could be appeared in a carrion as necrop hagous sp ecies ( feeding and breedin g ) and as p redators [ 22 ] . N . rufipes was t he clerids recov ered on carrion, and was p redominant p resence in the decay st age in summer , winter and sp ring ; associated with fly maggots inside car casses [14]. The previous studies stated that N. rufipes is necrovorous only [23, 24], whereas t he sp ecies IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FOR PURE & APPL. S CI VOL.23 (1) 2010 of N . ruf ipes is found necrovorous as well as p redaceous [25]. Adult of N . rufipes was found on dried fish , skins and bones of dead animals and other carrion where they are sap rop hagous and p redaceous , also this is a cosmopolitan sp ecies p robably originally from the Palearctic r egion [7]. The sp ecies of N . rufipes was regist ered on p ig car cass at the rate of 0.45% from total beetles collected during the p eriod of 17 July to 2 October [16] . The results showed that the lowest level is comp arable with Dermest idae and Hist eridae sp ecies; it's app eared in July and August only. These results assured Centeno et al. [4] , they observed no clerids sp ecies co llected in rain fall and winter at mean temp eratures of 18.73 C o & 20.5 C o resp ectively , whereas this sp ecies was app eared in sp ring and summer but in lowest level comp ared to other beetles ( such as Hist eridae and Dermestidae ) . On the other hand, differences between the results might be du e to the geographical region and season [26, 27]. Generally , field observation in the p resent study showed that most , if not all , sp ecies of collected beetles are more abundant during the moderate and warmer temp erature of sp ring , early summer and early autumn seasons t han during cold winter and late summer . Finally; it was found t hat Saprinus sp . 1 was the most abundant sp ecies of coleop teran during this invest igation. Re ferences 1. Carvalho , .L . M . L . ;Thy ssen , P . J . ; Goff , M . L . and Linhares , A . X.and Palhares, F.A.B. (2000) M em.Inst .Oswaldo Cruz,Rio de Janeiro,95(1):135-138. 2. Deonier, C.C.(1940).J.Econ.Entomol.33 :166-170. 3. Benecke, M . (2001) Forensic Sc. International, 120:2-14. 4. Centeno , N. ; M aldonado , M . and Oliva , A .(2002) forensic Sc. International, 126: 63 – 70 . 5. Imms,A.D.(1964)A general te xtbook of entomology ,9 th ed .Butler and Tannelr Ltd . ,London. 886pp . 6. Jaques, H.E.(1951) How t o Know t he beetles .W.M .C. Brown comp any p ublishers,U.S.A.205 pp . 7. Op itiz,W.(2002) Cleridae latreille 1804.In : Arnett, R.H.,Jr. , Thomas,M .C., Skelley , P.E.and Frank, J.H.(eds) .2002 . American beetles ,vol.2: Poly p haga: Scarabaeioidea through Curculionoid ea.CRC Press , Boca Raton ,USA. Pp .267-280. 8. Bousquet, Y. (2002) Hist erid beetles associated with l ivest ock dung in Can ada .http :// es2 a gr. a/ corc/ p ss histkey/ntro.htm M arch, 2002. 9.Holdhause, K.(1919)Koleop teren aus mesop otamien :Er gebnisse d er Winenchaftlichen Exp edition nach M esop otamien,1910.Annalen des (K.K.) Naturhistorischen Hofmuseum (M useums), Vienna,33:39-58. 10.Borer,D.J.and White ,R.E.(1970) A field guide to t he insects of America Nort h of M exico .3 rd p rinting, U S A , 404 pp . 11.Derwesh, A.I.(1965)A preliminary list of identified insects and some arachnids of Iraq Direct Gen. Agr Res. ro. Baghdad, Bulletin,No.121:1-123. 12.Denno , R . F . and Cothran , W . R . (1975)Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 68(4):741-758. 13.Carvalho , .L . M . L . ;Thy ssen , P . 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Table (1):Se asonal abundance of beetles on e xposed carcasse s in Baghdad Governorate during the period from Feb. 2006 to Jan. 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of beetles in monthly collection Jan- 007 De c Nov Oct Se pt Au g Jul y Jun Ma y Ap r Ma r Fe b.0 06 Coleopteran species Fam.:Histe ridae Saprinus sp.1 Saprinus sp.2 Fam.:Dermestida e Dermestes macul atus Fam.:Cleridae Necropia rufi pes - - - - - - - - - - - - 34 2 1 2 6 - - - 2 - - - 14 - 1 - 152 19 39 7 63 - 15 16 43 8 3 3 25 - 1 1 9 - 6 - IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FOR PURE & APPL. S CI VOL.23 (1) 2010 Table (2):The temperature and relative humidity dominated the period of study (Acco rding to Ira qi meteorological office) 0 20 40 60 80 100 Histeridae sp. Cleridae sp. Dermestidae sp. Fig. (1): Percentages of beetle species collected from dead ani mal carcasse s during Feb.2006-Jan.-2007 Months Feb- 2006 March 20 06 Apr- 20 06 May 2006 Jun 20 06 Jul- 20 06 Aug- 2006 Sep- 20 06 Oct- 20 06 Nov- 20 06 Dec- 2007 Ja n- 2007 Min Co Max Co 8.7 11.5 17.0 22.5 25 .5 27 .0 26 .5 20.9 18.5 8.1 3.1 3.0 19.6 26.6 30.3 38.2 44 .2 45 .3 42 .7 40.0 34.0 22.7 15 .7 14 .0 R.H% 63 43 49 33 20 22 23 28 43 49 62 67 2010) 1( 23مجلة ابن الھیثم للعلوم الصرفة والتطبیقیة المجلد على الجثث المكشوفة في مدینة ) الدور الكامل ( التواجد الموسمي ألنواع الخنافس بغداد ن عكل ،محمد صالح عبد الرسول الصفارهناء هاني ،رزاق شعال جامعة بغداد ،حف التأریخ الطبیعي مت خالصةال جمعت الخنافس المتجمعة حول الجثث المیتة لالرانب و االسماك المكشـوفة فـي دراسـة تعـد األولـى فـي مدینـة بغـداد التـي . 2007و الى كانون الثاني 2006 أجریت للفترة شباط یـف بكثافـة سـكانیة متباینـة حسـب بینت النتائج أنه باإلمكان جمع انواع من الخنافس فـي نهایـة موسـم الشـتاء ولغایـة بدایـة الخر :النوع والموسم،و أظهرت الدراسة وجود أربعة أنواع تعود إلى ثالث عوائل وهي Saprinus spالنوع Histعائلة 1 . eridae تاله النوع ،كان األكثر وفرة اذDermestes maculatus De Geer العائلة Dermest idae . بینمـا كـان النوعـانSaprinus sp Histالعائلـة مـن 2 . eridae وNecrobia rufipes De Geer .ةمدالهما األقل وفرة خالل تلك Cleridaeعائلة