1977] 
Peck — Small Carrion Beetle 
303 
ing on the fungi or bacteria associated with decomposition. It has 
been taken on carrion throughout its range and can be easily 
trapped with carrion baits (see above, and Newton and Peck, 
1975). Shubeck (1969) noticed that P. opaca increased in numbers 
as other carrion beetles decreased, at a later stage of succession of 
the carrion fauna, when the carcass was drying out. In contrast, 
Johnson (1975) found the species in an Illinois forest to be most 
common in the decay stage of decomposition. 
I have commonly taken P. opaca throughout its range in traps 
baited with human dung, and have found it on fox dung in Iowa. 
It occurs often in animal burrows and dens where it is probably a 
scavenger on nest or waste materials. So far, it have been recorded 
in literature and on specimen labels in woodchuck burrows in 
Indiana, New York, and Pennsylvania; in a fox hole in Massachu- 
setts; in rabbit nests in Indiana; in a belted kingfisher nest in New 
York; and in a buzzard nest in Maryland. It has been taken by 
Berlese-Tulgren funnel processing of decaying plant debris from 
Florida to New York and Wisconsin, and in tree holes in Illinois 
and South Carolina. Decaying gill fungi and rotted puffballs have 
yielded it in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Iowa, Illinois, and 
Massachusetts. The beetles prefer carrion over rotting fruits; 
Pirone (1974) took 462 specimens at fish carrion and only three at 
rotting melon in New York; Walker (1957) found this species only 
at fish carrion and not at rotting cantaloupe or cornmeal baits in 
Tennessee. Single occurrences in unusual places have been made 
under a kitchen sink in a Massachusetts house, in syrup traps in 
Virginia, by beating vegetation in Indiana, and from a tanglefoot 
screen and at blacklight in South Carolina. 
P. opaca has been abundantly taken in the southern part of its 
range on carrion baits in cave habitats. I have observed the beetle 
in large and persistent populations feeding on moist bat guano and 
carcasses in Kentucky, and Florida, and Black (1971) reports the 
same in Oklahoma. The following specific cave sites are listed: 
Alabama. Blount Co., Catfish, Horseshoe-Crump, and Randolph 
caves. Calhoun Co., Robertson and Weaver caves. Conecuh Co., 
Turk Cave. DeKalb Co., Cherokee and Lois Killian caves. Jack- 
son Co., House of Happiness and Rousseau caves. Madison Co., 
Burwell, Ellis, Hurricane, Matthews and Scott caves. Marshall 
Co., Eudy, Honeycomb, Merrill, Painted Bluff, and Terrill caves. 
Morgan Co., Lipscomb Cave. Arkansas. Washington Co., Cork- 
