S. Mahunka szerk.: Folia Entomologica Hungarica 47/1-2. (Budapest, 1986)

utilizable for coprophagous beetles, for a longer period of time (up to 2 to 3 days) owing to the low temperature and the wet microclimate in proximity of the soil surface. The species diversity and the abundance of the coprophagous beetles inhabiting sheep droppings are the highest in the spring aspect since the possibility for utilization of sheep dung then seems to be the highest. The species diversity and abundance of the non-primary dung inhabiting beetles (predaceous staphylinids) are also similarly the highest, since the prey insects are found in the biggest quantity in the droppings. The length of time of the spring aspect is influenced by the weather conditions and the geographical situation of the locality in question. In mild winter some specimens of one or two coprophagous species are present in droppings in our dry pastures but their mass abundance is unlikely before the end of February (more probably at the middle of March or only at the end of March in cool weather). Contrarily to the fact that there is only one day difference in the time of sampling in Bogács and Pusztamonostor, highly significant differences were found in the species diversity and also in the abundance values, as a consequence of their different geographical situation. Bogács is situated on the slopes of the Bükk Mountains, its climate is influenced by the vicinity of mountains (causing a later spring). The rainfalls in June in our country have an effect on the length of time of the spring aspect: in years with heavy rains the characteristic species of the spring aspect are found even in June on the dry pastures, in years of drought the spring aspect ends in May. The species diversity and the abundance of the dung-inhabiting beetles decrease gradually in the dryness of the summer, and they reach a minimum at the end of the summer or at the very beginning of the autumn (in the longest period without rains). The coprophagous beetle communities are characterized by a codominance of several species, the role of the accessorial species is slight: e.g. Dömsöd, Apajpuszta: Onthophagus ruficapillus

: D = 82.3 %, Oxytelops tetracarinatus (Block, 1799): D = 7.5 %, the other species have dominance values from 0.3 to 2.3 %. Pusztamonostor, 4th of June: Onthophagus ruficapillus

: D = 38.1 %, Anotylus nitidulus (Gravenhorst, 1802): D = 22.2 %, Onthophagus ovatus (Linné, 1767): D - 12.4 %, Cercyon quisquilius (Linnaeus, 1761), Oxytelops tetracarinatus

: D = 9.3 %, the dominance values of the other species are from 0.5 to 1.5 %. As a consequence of the dryness of soil and air and of the high temperature the sheep droppings dry out within a few hours and thus they become unsuitable for the nutrition of the beetles. This is why in the summer the sheep droppings are visited by species with high tolerance of small bodied and motile specimens. For the same reason the species diversity and the abundance of dunginhabiting beetle communities are the lowest in the summer (though the representatives of the dunginhabiting populations are present in the dry pastures also in the summer). In the same dry pasture the species diversity - and in our experience also the abundance - of the dung-inhabiting communities of the cattle droppings are much higher in the summer (Table 3). The cattle droppings are also visited by large-bodied and less motile species [

Geotrupes spiniger (Marsham, 1802), Aphodius scrutator (Herbst, 1789), Copris lunaris (Linnaeus, 1758), Onthophagus gibbulus (Pallas, 1781)] and by species of low tolerance (

Aphodius suarius Faldermann, 1835). This is because of the large mass, high water-content of the cattle droppings whose surface is small compared to their mass, and thus they dry out during a longer period (usually 3-5 days) even in summer. That is why the possibility of an utilization of cattle droppings is better than that of the sheep droppings. The large-bodied species inhabiting cattle droppings do not even visit sheep droppings if they were suitable for their nutrition. Field experiences and laboratory trials have proved (e.g. LANDIN, 1961) that some species prefer the dung of a given species. Contrarily, the origin of the dung is indifferent for the species with high tolerance or for those species which are of lower tolerance but live in the spring (or also in the autumn). By the cooler, rainy autumn weather the species diversity and the abundance of the communities are gradually increasing. At the beginning of the autumn aspect the species of the summer aspect may have a significant role: e.g. Aphodius ictericus (Dömsöd, Apajpuszta, 23rd of September: D = 85.7 %; Pusztamonostor, 23rd of September: D = 26.7 %); but they are replaced by the autumn species by the middle of the autumn (Bogács, 6th of October: Aphodius consputus

: 55.0 %, A. distinctus

: 16.5 %, A. prodromus

: 12.1 %. The dominant species of the autumn aspect are mainly the same as in the spring aspect though the autumn aspect is less diverse in species than the spring aspect is. In the dry pastures the dryness at the end of the summer or at the beginning of the autumn may detain the appearance of the autumn species for a long time. The length of the autumn aspect is determined by the former circumstance and the low temperature at the end of the growth season. In any case, the length of the autumn aspect is shorter than that of the spring aspect.