| Sammanfattning: | The activiy of Bubas bubalus (Oliver, 1811) was studied in Mediterranean holm-oak wooded areas ("dehesas") in the west of the Iberian Península. At the same time females were collected for analysing ovary development, tibial wear, accumulations fat-body and insemination. The life cycle of this species is completed during the course of a single year, with two population maxima coinciding with the peaks of adult emergence. There is a clear relationship between ovariole development and reproductive behaviour. This dung beetle is typically crepuscular with maximum flight activity during a short interval of light intensity (70 and 20 lux). Copulation occurs inmediately after the emergence of the adult; no relationship was found between the degree of gonad develoment and the presence or absence of spermatozoids in the spermatheca. Between emergenge and nesting there is a period of intense feeding with the consequent accumulation of fat-body. The eggs are laid in brood masses (on average 65 g. and 35 ml.), at a depth which varies between 8 and 35 cm. A study made under field conditions revealed a minimal contribution of the males towards the construction and preparation of the nests.
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