The 116 species of dynastine scarabs that occur in Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador were comprehensively reviewed between October 1998 and March 2006 and published in a monograph of the Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum. This project was a continuation of research on the dynastine fauna of Costa Rica and Panama begun by Ratcliffe. Keys, descriptions, distributions, and notes on biology were provided for all species as well as illustrations, maps, synopses of higher-level taxa, a glossary, a gazetteer of place names, and a species checklist. Nine new species were described. Three species were placed into synonymy. Seventy new country records were recorded. Partner organizations included the Escuela Agrícola Panamericana in Honduras, Museo de Historia Natural in El Salvador, and Museo de Entomológico in Nicaragua.

Research activities consisted of gathering specimen data from all the principal museum collections in the USA and Canada as well as all of those in the study area. All seven research collections housing Coleoptera in the study area had their material identified, augmented, curated, and databased. Several research/collecting trips (see list) were conducted with all the principal participants in all three countries. The database now has 21,150 entries for the study area. Training sessions on dynastine systematics were given to participants in El Salvador from the Museo Nacional, University of El Salvador, Agriculture Department, Forestry Department, and Parks Department.

Outreach Activities included coordination with a Fundación VIDA project, Capacitación de Maestros, Guardarecursos y Guías Naturalistas e Inventario de Insectos en Dos Areas Protegidas y sus Comunidades (Training of Teachers, Park Guards, and Nature Guides and Inventory of the Insects in Two Protected Areas and their Communities), which augmented the project by training teachers and park guards and producing posters that prominently displayed dynastines. The posters, “Insectos de Honduras: Scarabaeidae” and “Insectos Endémicos de Honduras”, were distributed to schools and non-governmental conservation agencies in Honduras. An on-line video in Spanish on 'What is a Scarab?' by Ron Cave was produced. Contributions to education and human resources consisted of training staff and students about collections management, field techniques, databasing, and faunistic surveys; training of a PhD graduate student and two undergraduate volunteers in the USA; and training of parataxonomists, park guards, and park administrators in Honduras about biodiversity. School presentations in Honduras and media exposure (T.V., magazines, newspapers) about biodiversity promoted learning, thus empowering students to be more involved with conservation and supportive of science endeavors.

There were 31 papers published citing this grant. Examples are:

Ratcliffe, B. C. and R. D. Cave. 2006. The Dynastine Scarab Beetles of Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Bulletin Univ. Nebraska State Museum 21: 1-500.

Ratcliffe, B. C. and M. A. Morón. 2005. Larval descriptions of eight species of Megasoma Kirby (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) with a key for identification and notes on biology. Coleopterists Bulletin 59: 91-126.

Ratcliffe, B. C. 2005. A review of the South American genus Hoplopygothrix Schürhoff (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini). Coleopterists Bulletin 59: 136-142.

Ratcliffe, B. C. and M. Hardy. 2005. Collagenus dasysternus, a new genus and species of Dynastinae from eastern Venezuela with a key to the New World genera of Pentodontini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae). Coleopterists Bulletin 59: 143-150.

Ratcliffe, B. C., D. M. Smith, and D. Erwin. 2005. Oryctoantiquus borealis, new genus and species from the Eocene of Oregon, U.S.A., the world's oldest fossil dynastine and largest fossil scarabaeid (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae). Coleopterists Bulletin 59: 127-135.

Ratcliffe, B. C. and M. L. Jameson. 2004. The revised classification for Scarabaeoidea: what the hell is going on? Scarabs 15: 3-10.

Ratcliffe, B. C. 2003. New species of Hemiphileurus Kolbe from Honduras and Guatemala (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Phileurini). Coleopterists Bulletin 57: 334-338.

Ratcliffe, B. C. and R. D. Cave. 2002. New species of Cyclocephala from Honduras
and El Salvador (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Cyclocephalini). Coleopterists Bulletin 56: 152-157.

Ratcliffe, B. C. and F. Ocampo. 2002. A review of the genus Hylamorpha Arrow
(Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae: Anoplognathini: Brachysternina). Coleopterists
Bulletin 56: 367-378.

Ratcliffe, B. C. 2002. Review of the genus Palaeophileurus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Phileurini) with description of two new species from Peru. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 95: 335-339.

Jameson, M. L., B. C. Ratcliffe, and V. Maly. 2002. Review of the genus Acrobolbia
Ohaus with remarks on its classification and key to the world genera of Cyclocephalini
(Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae). Folia Heyrovskyana 10: 1-15.

Jameson, M. L. and B. C. Ratcliffe. 2002. Series Scarabaeiformia Crowson 1960, Superfamily Scarabaeoidea Latreille 1802, pp. 1-5. In, Arnett, R. H., M. Thomas, P. E. Skelley, and J. H. Frank (eds.), American Beetles, Volume 2. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 861 pp.

Ratcliffe, B. C. 2002. Chapter 34-V. Dynastinae MacLeay 1819, pp. 64-67. In, Arnett, R. H., M. Thomas, P. E. Skelley, and J. H. Frank (eds.), American Beetles, Volume 2. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 861 pp.

Ratcliffe, B. C. 2001. New species of Hemiphileurus Kolbe (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) from Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, and Brazil. Coleopterists Bulletin 55: 433-443.

The PhD graduate student, Federico Ocampo, published 14 papers under the auspices of this grant. Examples are:

Ocampo, F. C . 2006. Phylogenetic analysis and monographic revision of the New World Subfamily Anaidinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Hybosoridae). Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum 19: 13-177.

Ocampo, F. C . and D. C. Hawks. 2006. Molecular phylogenetics and systematic placement of the family Hybosoridae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea). Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum 19: 7-12.

Ocampo, F. C. 2005. A new species of the Neotropical genus Daimothoracodes Petrovitz (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Hybosoridae). Zootaxa 1048: 45-51.

Ocampo, F. C and T. K. Philips. 2005. Food relocation behavior of the Argentinian dung beetle genus Eucranium Brullé and comparison with the southwest African Scarabaeus ( Pachysoma ) MacLeay (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeiniae). Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina 64: 53-59.

Ocampo, F. C. 2005. Revision of the southern South American endemic genus Anomiopsoides Blackwelder 1944 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Eucraniini) with description of its food relocation behavior. Journal of Natural History 39: 2537-2557.

Ocampo, F.C. 2004. Food relocation behavior and synopsis of the southern South American genus Glyphoderus Westwood (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Eucraniini). The Coleopterists Bulletin 58: 295-305.

Ocampo, F.C. and M.A. Morón. 2004. Description of the third instar larva of Hemiphileurus dispar Kolbe (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastiinae: Phileurini). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 106: 412-416.

Students (3) at the Escuela Agrícola Panamericana, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (2), and Universidad Técnica Latinoamericana (1) completed theses based on specimens collected by us or by learning field techniques while collecting with us. These included:

Arismendi Solís, N. L. 2002. Pentatomidae en Honduras: listado, distribución y biología de especies. Ing. Agr, Thesis, Escuela Agrícola Panamericana, El Zamorano, Honduras.

Argueta, N. 2002. Apidae en Honduras: listado, distribución y biología de especies. Ing. Agr, Thesis, Escuela Agrícola Panamericana, El Zamorano, Honduras.

Machado Caballero, J. E. 2001. Inventario y estudio comparativo de la fauna de Odonata en tres áreas de Honduras. Ing. Agr, Thesis, Escuela Agrícola Panamericana, El Zamorano, Honduras.

Samayoa Castillo, A. C. 2006. Listado de Sphingidae en Honduras y antenografía de Xylophanes ceratomioides en el Microscopio Electrónico de Barrido (SEM). Lic. Biol. Thesis, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Soto, L. 2003. Nymphalidae, Pieridae y Papilionidae de Honduras. Lic. Biol. Thesis, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Urrutia, F.M. and C. Nunes. 1999. Caracterización de dos comunidades de escarabajos (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) en El Salvador. Lic. Biol. Thesis and Laboratorio de Entomologia, Universidad Técnica Latinoamericana Boletin Técnico No. 6: 1-10.

A significant amount of the non-dynastine material collected on our trips was used in the following publications:

Arismendi, N. and D. B. Thomas. 2003. Pentatomidae of Honduras: a checklist with description of a new ochlerine genus. Insecta Mundi 17: 219-236.

Turnbow, R. H., R. D. Cave, and J. M. Kingsolver. 2003. An annotated checklist of the Bruchidae of Honduras. Ceiba 44: 269-278.

Turnbow, R. H., Jr., R. D. Cave, and M. C. Thomas. 2003. A list of the Cerambycidae of Honduras, with additions of previously unrecorded species. Ceiba 44: 1-43.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.