Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) from Salt Lake City, Kolkata, West Bengal

Abstract

Salt lake, being a part of East Kolkata Wetland, is a township adjacent to Kolkata. Present communication reports 14 species of scarab beetles belonging to 3 subfamilies, Scarabaeinae, Rutelinae, Dynastinae of family Scarabaeidae from Salt Lake City, Kolkata, West Bengal.

Full text

~269~
Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2016; 4(1): 269-273
E-ISSN: 2320-7078
P-ISSN: 2349-6800
JEZS 2016; 4(1): 269-273
© 2016 JEZS
Received: 19-11-2015
Accepted: 22-12-2015
Joyjit Ghosh
Zoological Survey of India, Prani
Vigyan Bhavan, M- Block, New
Alipore, Kolkata-700053, West
Bengal, India.
Debika Bhunia
Post Graduate Department of
Zoology, Maulana Azad College,
Kolkata
Correspondence
Joyjit Ghosh
Zoological Survey of India, Prani
Vigyan Bhavan, M- Block, New
Alipore, Kolkata-700053, West
Bengal, India.
Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) from
Salt Lake City, Kolkata, West Bengal
Joyjit Ghosh, Debika Bhunia
Abstract
Salt lake, being a part of East Kolkata Wetland, is a township adjacent to Kolkata. Present
communication reports 14 species of scarab beetles belonging to 3 subfamilies, Scarabaeinae, Rutelinae,
Dynastinae of family Scarabaeidae from Salt Lake City, Kolkata, West Bengal.
Keywords: Scarab Beetles, Salt Lake, Phytophagous, and Coprophagous Beetles.
1. Introduction
Scarab beetles belonging to superfamily Scarabaeoidea under Order Coleoptera includes 12
families, 43 subfamilies, 118 tribes and 94 subtribes throughout the world [1]. The family
Scarabaeidae comprises 91% of the total 27,800 species of Scarabaeoidea fauna known
worldwide [2]. The family includes subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae which are
Laparosticti or dung beetles for housing in the dung, while Rutelinae, Melolonthinae,
Dynastinae, Cetoninae, Sericinae, Euchirinae, Hoplinae, Valginae and Trichinae are
Pleurosticti or phytophagous which feed on plants and are pests of crops [3].
The pleurostict scarabs play an important role as indicator to subtle changes in vegetation of a
particular region. The adult of these beetles generally feed on flowers, leaves, fruits, tree sap,
while the larvae feed on plant roots, rotten wood [4]. On the basis of their nesting pattern,
Laprosticti are classified into three functional groups viz. rollers (telocoprid), tunnelers
(paracoprid) and dwellers (endocoprid). Rollers form balls from a dung pat which they roll and
bury the balls in the ground for feeding and breeding, while tunnelers make vertical chambers
underground near the dung pat and make their nests with the help of dung pat whereas
dwellers breed in dung pats itself [5].
Salt Lake City, a planned satellite township falling in the North 24 Parganas district of West
Bengal, India. In the Salt Lake area of West Bengal, [6] had done a work on faunal diversity.
But entomofauna of the area is poorly documented. Few works on the fauna of salt lake were
done by [7] and [8]. With respect to the scarab beetles, [9] reported 4 species viz. Oryctes
rhinoceros (Linnaeus, 1758), Heteronychus lioderes Redtenbacher, 1867, Anomala
bengalensis (Blanchard, 1851) and Onthophagus dama (Fabricius, 1798) and [10] reported
Adoretus lacustris Arrow, 1917 and Adoretus flavus Arrow, 1917 from the area. Because of its
vulnerability to rapid urbanization, thorough inventory of the existing fauna of Salt Lake area
is crucial. Arrow [11-13] in his faunal work on Indian Scarabaeidae recorded 142 species from
areas now under West Bengal. Twenty five species have been added to the list of fauna of
West Bengal and 4 species have been added to Indian fauna [10].
The present communication with the aim of developing an inventorying the Scarabaeidae
fauna of the Salt Lake area reports 14 species belonging to 8 genera under 3 subfamilies i.e.
Rutelinae, Dynastinae and Scarabaeinae with additional records to the existing coleopteran
fauna of the area.
Materials and Methods
The specimens for the present study were collected during day time using forceps and vials
from dung, plants decayed matter and ground. They were killed in benzene vapours, preserved
dry pinned. Later, the specimens were brought to the laboratory at the Zoological Survey of
India, Kolkata and identified using Leica, M205A stereo zoom microscope with the help of
available literatures [11, 12, 13] and matched with the reference collections present in the
laboratory. The illustrations of those beetles were given which were studied by authors.


~270~
Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies

Salt Lake city extends between 22.58°N and 88.42°E. The city
is adjacent to the state capital Kolkata. In 1960, the new town
Salt Lake was formed from the East Kolkata Wetland to
minimize the pressure on housing and infrastructure and the
master plan was approved on 9th April, 1964. Since then for
the last 38 to 40 years the city has been urbanised into a
continuous urban area adjacent to Kolkata [14]. With the
changing time and modernization, the old plant hedges were
being replaced by walls or wire fences, thus reducing
vegetation of the area.
Fig 1: Map of Sites in Salt Lake city.
Results
The study identified 10 species of Scarabaeidae belonging to 8
genera under 3 subfamilies from the Salt Lake area. Out of
these, 8 species are new to the area, thus accounting to a total
of 14 species from the area.
Systematic Account
Family Scarabaeidae
Subfamily Rutelinae
Tribe Anomalini
1. Anomala bengalensis Blanchard, 1851
Distribution: India: West Bengal, Bihar, Karnataka, and Tamil
Nadu. Elsewhere: Myanmar.
Feeding habit: Phytophagous.
Remarks : Recorded by Roy et.al (2014).
2. Anomala biharensis Arrow, 1917 (Fig: A)
Material examined: 01 ex. Nalban, Salt Lake city, 07.x.2014.
coll. J. Ghosh. Distribution: India: West Bengal, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and
Uttarakhand. Feeding habit: Phytophagous.
3. Anomala bilobata Arrow, 1912 (Fig: B)
Material examined: 03 exs. Central Park, Salt Lake city,
09.x.2014.coll.D.Bhunia
Distribution: India: West Bengal. Elsewhere: Burma.
Feeding habit: Phytophagous.
4. Anomala polita (Blanchard, 1851) (Fig: C)
Material examined: 01 ex. Nalban, Salt Lake city,
09.x.2014.coll.J.Ghosh
Distribution: India: Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh,
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Uttar
Pradesh and Uttaranchal. Elsewhere: Nepal and Pakistan.
Feeding habit: Phytophagous.
Tribe Adoretini
5. Adoretus flavus Arrow 1917
Distribution: India: West Bengal and Punjab.
Feeding habit: Phytophagous.
Remarks: Recorded by Chatterjee and Biswas (1995).
6. Adoretus lacustris Arrow, 1917
Distribution: India: West Bengal.
Feeding habit: Phytophagous.
Remarks: Recorded by Chatterjee and Biswas (1995).
7. Adoretus lasiopygus Burmeister, 1855(Fig: D)
Material examined: 01 ex. Banabitan, Salt Lake city,
12.x.2014.coll. D.Bhunia Distribution: India:Assam, Bihar,


~271~
Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies

Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar
Pradesh, West Bengal. Elsewhere: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh.
Feeding habit: Phytophagous.
8. Adoretus versutus Harold, 1869(Fig: E)
Material examined: 01 ex. Central Park, Salt Lake city,
12.x.2014.coll.D.Bhunia Distribution: India: Uttarakhand,
West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh.
Elsewhere: Sri Lanka, Malay Peninsula, Fiji Island, Samoa,
Tongatabu, Mauritius, Seychelles. Feeding habit:
Phytophagous.
Subfamily Dynastinae
Tribe Dynastini
9. Xylotrupes gideon (Linnaeus, 1767) (Fig: F)
Material examined: 02 exs. Central Park, Salt Lake city,
10.x.2014.coll.D.Bhunia
Distribution: India: West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam,
Maharashtra. Elsewhere: Sri Lanka. Feeding habit:
Phytophagous.
Tribe Pentodontini
10. Heteronychus lioderes Redtenbacher, 1867(Fig: G)
Material examined: 02 exs. Nalban, Salt Lake city,
10.x.2014.coll.J.Ghosh.
Distribution: India: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
Elsewhere: Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Malay Peninsula. Borneo,
Celebes, Java.
Feeding habit: Phytophagous.
Tribe Oryctini
11. Oryctes rhinoceros (Linnaeus, 1785) (Fig: H)
Material examined: 01 exs. Central Park, Salt Lake city,
10.x.2014.coll.D.Bhunia
Distribution: India: Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal. Elsewhere:
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand,
Malaysia, Indonesia (Java, Sumatra), Cambodia, Korea, Laos,
Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, American Samoa, Fiji, Palau,
Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Wallis, Futuna.
Feeding habit: Phytophagous
Subfamily Scarabaeinae
Tribe Onthophagini
12. Onthophagus (Colobonthophagus) dama (Fabricius,
1798)
Distribution: India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar,
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Tamilnadu
and West Bengal. Elsewhere: Bhutan and Nepal.
Feeding habit: Coprophagous.
Remarks: Recorded by Roy et.al (2014).
Tribe Coprini
13. Catharsius molossus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Fig: I)
Material examined: 02 exs. Central Park, Salt Lake city,
12.x.2014.coll. J.Ghosh.
Distribution: India:Andaman Island, Arunachal Pradesh,
Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Harynana, Himachal Pradesh,
Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha,
Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West
Bengal.Elsewhere:Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, Nepal,
Pakistan, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam.
Feeding habit: Coprophagous.
Tribe Onitini
14. Onitis philemon Fabricius, 1801 (Fig: J)
Material examined: 02 exs. Nalban, Salt Lake city,
10.x.2014.coll. J.Ghosh
Distribution: India: Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh,
Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West
Bengal.
Feeding habit: Coprophagous.
Discussion
Salt Lake once being a part of the East Kolkata Wetlands, a
Ramsar site, may yield interesting faunal documentation, if
thorough surveys are undertaken. But, due to rapid
urbanization the area faced devastating effects both on its flora
and fauna. Though in few patches, some greeneries exist, like
Central Park, Nalban and Banabitan which harbour few
phytophagous subfamilies of scarabs like Rutelinae and
Dynastinae. Coprophagous scarabs viz. Catharsius molossus
and Onitis philemon were collected few in number, probably
due to gradual decline in the number of cattle stable which
used to be the residing place of these beetles in the dungs of
the cattle. The dung beetles feed on animal excreta as both
adults and larvae and thus helping in secondary seed dispersal,
nutrient cycling and parasite suppression. They also help in
ecosystem functions such as biological pest control and soil
fertilization [15]. The gradual cause in local species decrease is
seemingly associated with the loss of habitat and rapid loss of
survival conditions for these beetles. Earlier there were
uncultivated or wasteland around villages, which was used for
cattle roaming, foraging and human feces [16]. But now due to
population explosion, there is a strong pressure for
urbanization, industrialization. The anthropogenic disturbances
to natural system, more around human inhabitations, have
affected them and are the main causes for their decline [17].The
formation to natural habitat around human inhabitations to
provide space for cattle to graze, promoting natural cattle
herding, and minimal intensive and mono culturing avoiding
input of veterinary antibiotics might help in conservation of
these beetles [16]. Salt Lake area is considered to be one of the
green breathing space in a highly concretized city of Kolkata.
Therefore, extensive inventories on the insect fauna of such
vulnerable area are crucial before substantial portion of the
insect fauna gets depleted.


~272~
Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies

Fig 2: Images of the Scarab beetles.
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful Dr. Kailash Chandra, Director-in-
Charge, Zoological Survey of India, New Alipore, Kolkata,
India. Thanks are also due to Mr. Angshuman Raha and Mr.
Amitava Majumder for providing support.
References
1. Smith ABT. A Review of the family-group names for the
superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections
to nomenclature and a current classification, Coleop. Soc.
Mono, 2006; 5:144-204.
2. Jameson ML, Ratcliffe BC. Scarabaeoidea: Scarabaeoid
beetles (=Lamellicornia)
(URL:http://wwwmuseum.unl.edu/research/entomology/G
uide/ Scarabaeoidea / Scarabaeoidea-ages/ Scarabaeoidea
- Overview/ Scarabaeoidea O.html). In, B.C. Ratcliffe and
M.L. Jameson (eds.), Generic Guide to New World Scarab
Beetles, 2001. (URL: http://www-
museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Guide/index4.htm).
Accessed on: 15.05.2015
3. Chandra K. Taxonomic Studies on Pleurostict
Scarabaeidae (Coleoptera) of North-West India. Ph.D.
thesis, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshtera 1986, 1-251.
4. Lawrence JF, Britton EB. Australian Beetles. CSIRO
Publishing 1994, 192.
5. Halffter G, Edmonds WD. The nesting behavior of dung
beetles (Scarabaeinae)- an ecological and evolutive
approach. Instituto de Ecologia. Mexico, D. F 1982; 1-176.
6. Seymour- Sewell RB. A study of the fauna of Salt Lake,
Calcutta, Rec. Indian Mus. 1934; 36:45-121.
7. Biswas O, Chakraborti U, Das A, Chatterjee S, Das S,
Mahajan B. Lepidoptera and Araneae diversity of Salt
Lake City, Kolkata. Bionotes 2012; 14(3):95-96.
8. De (Pal) M, Sengupta T. Beetles of (Coleoptera: Insecta)
of wetlands of Calcutta and its surroundings. Rec. Zool.
Surv. India 1993; 93(1-2):103-108.
9. Roy S, Ghosh J, Das G, Mitra B. Diversity of Beetles
(Coleoptera) in the Salt Lake City, Kolkata. Bionotes
2014; 16(3):98.
10. Chatterjee SK, Biswas S. Fauna of West Bengal. State
Fauna Series 3. In Zoological Survey of India 1995;
6(A):363-447.
11. Arrow GJ. The Fauna of British India including Ceylon
and Burma. Col. Lamell. I (Cetoniinae & Dynastinae),
Taylor & Francis, London, V-XIV, 1910, 1-322.
12. Arrow GJ. The Fauna of British India including Ceylon
and Burma. Col. Lamell. II (Rutelinae). Taylor & Francis,
London, V-XIII 1917; 1-387:7 fig., 5 pls


~273~
Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies

13. Arrow GJ. The Fauna of British India including Ceylon
and Burma. Col. Lamell. III, (Coprinae). Taylor &
Francis, London, XII 1931; 1-428:61 fig., 19 pls., map.
14. Panda S, Banerjee K, Sharma R, Jain MK, Jeyaseelan AT.
Measurement of Urban Growth and Spatial Dynamics in a
Rapid Growing Saltlake City of Kolkata Using GIS.
International Journal of Remote Sensing and GIS. 2014;
3(2):10-17.
15. Nichols E, Spector S, Louzada J, Larsen T, Amezquita S,
Favila ME. Ecological functions and ecosystem services
provided by Scarabaeinae dung beetles. Biological
Conservation 2008, 1-14.
16. Mittal IC. Diversity and Conservation Status of Dung
Beetles (Laparosticti: Scarabaeidae: Coleoptera) in North
India. Bulletin of the National Institute of Ecology 2005;
15:43-51.
17. Favila ME, Halffter G. The use of indicator groups for
measuring biodiversity as related to community structure
and function. Acta Zoologica, Mexicana 1997; 72:1-25.