## 2 Materials and Methods  
### Research Area  
The study was carried out in various habitats of south-eastern Poland in 2009-2012 and 2014. The sites were located in Borek Stary (UTM EA73), Rzeszow (UTM EA74) and Widna Gora (UTM FA13/FA23) on 13 research localities (Table 1; Figure 1).  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline
**Locality** & **Geographical** & **Habitat** & **Study Site** & **Years** & **Number of Samples \({}^{*}\)** \\
**[UTM]** & **Coordinates** & **Habitat** & **Study Site** & **Years** & **Number of Samples \({}^{*}\)** \\ \hline Borek Stary & 49\({}^{\circ}\)56\({}^{\prime}\)49\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N [EA 73] & mid-field balk \({}^{a}\) & No. 1 & 2009/2010 & 44/48 \\ \hline Borek Stary & 49\({}^{\circ}\)56\({}^{\prime}\)42\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N [EA 73] & mid-field tree stand I & No. 2 & 2009/2010 & 44/48 \\ \hline Borek Stary & 49\({}^{\circ}\)56\({}^{\prime}\)54\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N [EA 73] & mid-field tree stand II & No. 3 & 2009/2010 & 44/48 \\ \hline Rzeszów & 49\({}^{\circ}\)59\({}^{\prime}\)59\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N [EA 74] & 22\({}^{\circ}\)13\({}^{\prime\prime}\)5\({}^{\prime\prime}\) E  & \({}^{\circ}\)13\({}^{\prime\prime}\) E  & \({}^{\circ}\)14\({}^{\prime\prime}\)44 \\ \hline Rzeszów & 49\({}^{\circ}\)59\({}^{\prime}\)56 N [EA 74] & cluster of trees and shrubs & No. 5 & 2011/2012 & 44/44 \\ \hline Rzeszów & 50\({}^{\circ}\)0\({}^{\prime}\)9\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N [EA 74] & urban park & No. 6 & 2011/2012 & 44/44 \\ \hline Widna Gora [FA13] & 49\({}^{\circ}\)59\({}^{\prime}\)29\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N [EA 13] & mid-field balk \({}^{b}\)  & \({}^{\circ}\)14\({}^{\prime\prime}\)48 \\ \hline Widna Gora [FA23] & 49\({}^{\circ}\)59\({}^{\prime}\)35\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N [EA 23] & mid-field balk \({}^{c}\)  & \({}^{\circ}\)14\({}^{\prime\prime}\)48 \\ \hline Widna Gora [FA23] & 49\({}^{\circ}\)59\({}^{\prime}\)35\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N [EA 23] & mid-field balk \({}^{d}\)  & \({}^{\circ}\)14\({}^{\prime\prime}\)48 \\ \hline Widna Gora [FA23] & 49\({}^{\circ}\)59\({}^{\prime}\)35\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N [EA 23] & 22\({}^{\circ}\)40\({}^{\prime}\)28\({}^{\prime\prime}\) E  & \({}^{\circ}\)14\({}^{\prime\prime}\)48 \\ \hline Widna Gora [FA23] & 49\({}^{\circ}\)59\({}^{\prime}\)35\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N [EA 23] & 22\({}^{\circ}\)40\({}^{\prime}\)28\({}^{\prime\prime}\) E  & \({}^{\circ}\)14\({}^{\prime\prime}\)48 \\ \hline Widna Gora [FA23] & 49\({}^{\circ}\)59\({}^{\prime}\)35\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N [EA 23] & 22\({}^{\circ}\)40\({}^{\prime}\)28\({}^{\prime\prime}\) E  & \({}^{\circ}\)14\({}^{\prime\prime}\)48 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 1: Geographical characteristics, habitats, years of investigations, and numbers of samples at study area.  
The research sites were located in Borek Stary covered habitats in areas used for agriculture but excluded from direct management (wasteland). There were two types of mid-field trees (sites 2 and 3) and mid-field balks (an unplowed strip) separating the cultivation of a mixture of cereals and pasture (site 1).  
In Rzeszow, carrion beetles were collected at three sites. In suburban areas, i.e., in an area with a greater degree of urbanization, the selected research sites included wooded sites: _Salix criminalis_ oser plantation (site 4), a cluster of trees and shrubs (site 5), and a city park (site 6).  
The research sites in Widna Gora, like in Borek Stary, were located in agricultural areas. However, these sites were used economically and included: a potato _Solanum tuberosum_ cultivation (site 10), the cultivation of _Beta vulgaris_, semi-sugar type of fodder beet; Zentaur Poly variety (site 11), _Avena sativa_, _Hordeum vulgare_, _Triticum aestivum_ cultivated for forage (site 12), and a backyard orchard (site 13). Additionally, the study covered the mid-field balks adjacent to the above-mentioned crops (site 7, 8, and 9).