My name is Steven Barney from Lafayette, LA. I've been
nonprofessionally working with beetles for over six years, mostly
keeping within Scarabaeoidea.
    I am posting generally to introduce myself to the group but
specifically to pose a question. I am planning a trip to Ft. Polk WMA
in a week or two and plan to set pitfall traps to hopefully catch P.
triangularis. This is not far over the border from where they have
been found in TX and I was wondering if anyone had any tips on baiting
Phanaeus.

Regards,
 Steven

Clipping a condiment cup on the side of your pitfall trap with a clothes
pin is the technique I was taught.

Also, to keep the rain out, you can add two more clothes pins (at 120
deg.) to the rim of your trap and push an upside down styrofoam plate
down so the pins poke through and act like a tripod supporting the
plate...

See here for diagram:
http://texasento.net/ASCIIpitfalltrap.htm

HTH, Mike Quinn, Austin