Coleoptera of Poultry Manure in Caged-layer Houses in North Carolina 1

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Abstract
At least 120 species of Coleoptera were recovered from poultry manure in narrow, widespan, and high-rise types of caged-layer poultry houses in the Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain regions of North Carolina. Carcinops pumilio (Erichson) and Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) were consistently the most abundant species in all 3 regions, followed by Gnathoncus nanus (Scriba) and the Aleocharinae (Staphylinidae). According to 5 indices of diversity, the Piedmont ranked 1st in overall diversity, species richness and equitability, followed by the Coastal Plain, and thirdly, by the Mountains. Narrow and high/rise house types were compared for adult and larval C. pumilio and A. diaperinus . The larval population peak for A. diaperinus occurred significantly earlier in the high-rise than in the narrow houses, however, the narrow houses had significantly higher beetle diversity. A qualitative examination of overwintering forms showed that most species overwintered primarily, but not exclusively, as adults.