Little is known about soil macro-invertebrates such as Coleoptera and Myriapoda
in Côte d’Ivoire. However, some studies have been conducted dealing with endogeous
larva Coleoptera, coprophageous Coleoptera and Diplopoda. In the Lamto savanna,
223 species of endogeous larva Coleoptera have been counted, 53 species of which
are typically from savanna. They belong to families of Melolonthidae, Rutelidae,
Cetonidae, Tenebrionidae and Alleculidae. Species have a different stratifi cation
and spatial distribution according to shape and life. The coprophageous Coleoptera
(Scarabaeidae) contain 286 species distributed in 2 subfamilies: the Scarabaeinae
and the Coprinae. Their micro-habits are constituted of excrements of various origin,
animal cadavers, rotted fruits and woods. The population is infl uenced by some
abiotic factors (rain, soil, water). They play an important role in the ecosystems, such
as excrements burrial in the soil (300 to 1220 kg. ha-1.year-1) and soil enrichment in
organic matters. The population of Diplopoda is more diverse under forest ecosystem
