The Colorado Scarab Survey

Whereas some other states in the region, such as Nebraska or North Dakota, have monographic accounts of their scarab beetle fauna, Colorado is more than a century behind. The last catalogue of Colorado beetles was published in 1902 by Henry Frederick Wickham, listing 117 species of Scarabaeoidea. Up to now, 219 species of Scarabaeoidea have been recorded from the State in the literature, but only 9.2 species on average are known per county. A catalogue of these literature records will be published by the time of this presentation. Three years ago, we have started a statewide collecting program of scarab beetles in Colorado, the Colorado Scarab Survey. Aim of the Survey is to produce a monograph of Colorado scarabs with keys, illustrations and distribution maps for all species and a regularly updated webpage. With the Survey still in its infancy, every single record, even of common scarab species, is valuable and appreciated. Please send your records to frank.krell@dmns.org or contact me if you have unidentified scarab material from Colorado.