SPECIES COMPOSITION AND ECOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF CARABID’S ASSEMBLY IN A FODDER’S MIXTURE FIELD IN NORTH POLAND

It June-September of 2007 the qualitative and quantitative composition of carabids were investigated in annual fodder’s mixture field in vicinity of Bukowina village in Pomeranian province (N Poland, UTM XA83, 17°50’E and 54°25’N). It was trapping 509 specimen belonged to 23 species. The studied carabid assembly had very specific species composition and ecological structure. Was observed 7 dominant species: Calathus fuscipes, Harpalus griseus, Harpalus rufipes, Harpalus calceatus, Poecilus lepidus, Broscus cephalotes and Harpalus froelichii (more than 5% specimen). This assembly is characterized by low species richness, polydomination, high value Shannon and Pielou indexes, and not typical high seasonal activity of “autumn breeders” in first half of June. Possible reasons of such phenomena are soil condition (dry sand soil) and extreme warm winter 2006/2007

Recent records of steppe species in Belarus, first indications of a steppe species invasion?

Belarus is situated at a crossroad of natural borders of species distributions: the NE part is situated in a taiga zone, whereas the other part of terrain is in the European forest zone. The distance of Belarus to the steppe zone is about 330 kilometers. This geographical position and the extensive knowledge of its fauna can be used to monitor changes in the distribution of different species. An intensive study of open habitat ground beetles was carried out from 1975–2008 in Belarus, using pitfall traps, quadrate-sampling methods, hand collecting, netting and light traps. In total, more than 130 000 specimens of ground beetles belonging to 169 species were collected from 62 fields and 11 meadows of different types. 217 specimens of Calosoma investigator (Illiger 1798), 2 specimens of C. denticolle (Gebler 1833), and one specimen of Harpalus subcylindricus (Dejean, 1829), H. honestus (Duftschmid 1812) and Zabrus tenebrioides (Goeze 1777) were present in this material. All specimens were macropterous and exclusively caught at fields and waste grounds on sandy soil. Nowadays Belarus is the northernmost location for these species in Eastern Europe. Steppe species most probably migrated to SE Belarus from NE Ukraine, using Dnieper and its river valleys. The shift in the geographic distribution of steppe species during the last thirty years in Belarus have been attributed to a higher frequency of warmer and wetter summers in the last few decades

Habitat preferences and demographic parameters of Nebria brevicollis (Fabricius, 1792) population in an agricultural landscape

Background and Purpose: Nebria brevicollis is considered a forest species. The aim of this study was to analyze selected aspects of the demographic structure of N. brevicollis in a mosaic of agricultural habitats. We hypothesized that collected demographic parameter vary depending on a habitat (pine forest, cereal crops, old fallow and fresh fallow), and used this differences to identify residential and/or migrant habitats for the species.Materials and Methods: Between 2007 and 2009, the occurrence and habitat preferences of Nebria brevicollis from four types of agricultural landscape habitats (pine forest, old fallow, fresh fallow and cereal crops) in northern Poland were studied. The material was collected by trapping in pitfall traps.Results: A total of 621 individuals were collected. Activity analysis showed that Nebria brevicollis was present in all four habitat types. However, it was significantly more prevalent in pine forest and old fallow. All developmental stages (teneral, immature, mature and spent) were found in pine forest and old fallow. In fresh fallow and cereal crops, the age structure was disrupted and incomplete. Approximately twice more males than females were recorded in all habitats. The highest average number of eggs per female was recorded in old fallow, and the highest number of eggs produced by a single female in pine forest.  Conclusion: Based on the analyzed features of the Nebria brevicollis sampled populations, this species seems to be a constant element of pine forest and old fallow surface assemblages (preferred habitats), and a migrant element in another two studied habitats (fresh fallow and cereal crops).</p

Syntomus pallipes (Dejean, 1825) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) – ground beetle new to Belarus

Syntomus pallipes (Dejean, 1825) was recorded for the first time in Belarus from Gomel city (SE Belarus).Syntomus pallipes (Dejean, 1825) został odnotowany po raz pierwszy na Białorusi w Homlu (Białoruś południowo-wschodnia)

Fig. 4 in A Modified Pitfall Trap for Capturing Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Fig. 4. Ecological and trophic structure of the carabid fauna as measured by traditional and modified pitfall traps.Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Radawiec, Brygida &amp; Aleksandrowicz, Oleg, 2013, A Modified Pitfall Trap for Capturing Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), pp. 473-480 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 67 (4)&lt;/i&gt; on page 477, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065x-67.4.473, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10104010"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/10104010&lt;/a&gt

Fig. 5 in A Modified Pitfall Trap for Capturing Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Fig. 5. Shannon-Wiener and Pielou indices for Carabidae captured in traditional and modified pitfall traps.Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Radawiec, Brygida &amp; Aleksandrowicz, Oleg, 2013, A Modified Pitfall Trap for Capturing Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), pp. 473-480 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 67 (4)&lt;/i&gt; on page 478, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065x-67.4.473, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10104010"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/10104010&lt;/a&gt

Fig. 1. Pitfall traps. A in A Modified Pitfall Trap for Capturing Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Fig. 1. Pitfall traps. A) Traditional, B) Modified with a plastic funnel.Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Radawiec, Brygida &amp; Aleksandrowicz, Oleg, 2013, A Modified Pitfall Trap for Capturing Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), pp. 473-480 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 67 (4)&lt;/i&gt; on page 474, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065x-67.4.473, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10104010"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/10104010&lt;/a&gt

Fig. 2 in A Modified Pitfall Trap for Capturing Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Fig. 2. The seasonal dynamics of trapping efficiency of traditional and modified pitfall traps.Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Radawiec, Brygida &amp; Aleksandrowicz, Oleg, 2013, A Modified Pitfall Trap for Capturing Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), pp. 473-480 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 67 (4)&lt;/i&gt; on page 475, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065x-67.4.473, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10104010"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/10104010&lt;/a&gt

Ground beetle assemblages (Coleoptera, Carabidae) of the Krasiborska Kępa reserve

The study was carried out from the beginning of June to the end of July 2005 in the Krasiborska Kępa reserve (UTM VV56; 53.848&deg;N, 14.370&deg;E). Three research plots were established, representing various types of use of reedy areas: an unused reedy area, a reedy area mown in summer, and an area mown in winter. Beetles were collected in Barber traps with ethylene glycol as a preservative liquid. Seven traps were set up in each examined habitat. In total 1,145 specimens belonging to 35 species were caught. The relatively small area presented three different carabid assemblages, differing in species richness, abundance, dominance structure and ecological preferences. The highest species richness and abundance, as well as the largest representation of endangered stenobiontic hygrophilous bog species (Trechus rivularis, Carabus clathratus, Carabus menetriesi, Bembidion fumigatum, Blethisa multipunctata, and Oodes helopioides), were observed in the&nbsp; periodically flooded fen which was mowed in the winter.W wyniku badań przeprowadzonych w czerwcu i lipcu 2005 roku, na trzech stanowiskach o charakterze torfowiskowym w północno-wschodniej części rezerwatu Karsiborska Kępa zebrano 1145 osobników należących do 35 gatunków. Na względnie małym terenie występują trzy różnych zgrupowania biegaczowatych. Różnice polegają na bogactwie gatunkowym, liczebności, strukturze dominacji i preferencjach ekologicznych. Największe bogactwo gatunkowe i liczebność, oraz największa reprezentacja przyrodnicza cennych stenobiontycznych higrofilnych torfowiskowych gatunków (Trechus rivularis, Carabus clathratus, Carabus menetriesi, Bembidion fumigatum, Blethisa multipunctata, Oodes helopioides) znajdowała się na stanowisku 3 – okresowo zalewanym torfowisku niskim, koszonym w okresie zimowym