The endangered American burying beetle, Nicrophorus americanus Olivier, at the edge of its range in Arkansas (Coleoptera: Silphidae)

Surveys conducted during 1992-1996 on the Cold Springs Ranger District of the Ouachita National Forest in west-central Arkansas resulted in the capture of 73 American burying beetles (ABB). Most ABB-positive traplines were concentrated along the northern boundary of the district. No ABBs were found in the southern one-half of the study area, and surveys south of the area in Arkansas have been ABB-negative. Trapping success within the ABB-inhabited area of the district was approximately 0.02 ABB/trapnight during studies conducted in 1994 and 1996, a figure that may represent a minimum viable population density for the species. Trapping success figures from elsewhere in the region are compared, and the known distribution of the ABB in Oklahoma and Arkansas is discussed.