Suparoek Watanasit, Nutthanate Na Wong and Pimpa Sirawatchananai

pp. 369 - 384

Abstract

The abundance of beetles on canopy trees were examined between disturbed and undisturbed areas of
lowland tropical rain forest in Ton Nga Chang Wildlife Sanctuary, Songkhla, Thailand between November
2001 and November 2002. Pyrethroid fogging was applied to collect the canopy beetles at 3 randomly selected
trees in a permanent plot of 100×100 m² of each study site every 2 months. The results show that the
abundance of canopy beetles comprises of 485 species, 80 subfamilies in 42 families. The beetles frequently
collected were Anthicidae, Curculionidae, Chrysomelidae, Elateridae and Staphylinidae. No differences in
Shannon-Wiener Index and evenness were found between disturbed and undisturbed areas.
The effects of seasonal change (dry and wet) and study area on individual number of canopy beetle
families were also investigated. It was found that seasonal change influences canopy beetles in families
Coccinellidae and Silvanidae, while the study area affects canopy beetles in families Anthicidae, Ceratocanthidae, Coccinellidae and Silvanidae. Interaction between seasonal change and study area is also found in the
individual number of the family Attelabidae. The relationships between physical factors (rainfall, temperature and humidity) and the number
of individuals of canopy beetles were also determined. The results show that the number of individuals of
family Attelabidae was positively correlated with rainfall, whereas the number of individuals of families
Buprestidae and Cerambycidae were posivtively correlated with temperature and the number of individuals
of family Hydrophilidae was negatively correlated with humidity.

Keywords

• canopy
• beetle
• Ton Nga Chang Wildlife Sanctuary
• seasonal change
• physical factors