Tegzesek (Trichoptera) szezonális rajzás-aktivitásának jellemzése eltérő élőhelyeken történő fénycsapdás monitorozás alapján | Characterising of seasonal flight activity of caddisflies (Trichoptera) based on light trapping monitoring in different habitats

A dolgozat egy hullámtéri (nedves) és egy nyílt homokpuszta gyep (száraz) élőhelyen, két évig folytatott kísérleti fénycsapdázás nyomán 3 tegzesfaj (Ecnomus tenellus, Oecetis ochracea, Agraylea sexmaculata) szezonális rajzásaktivitási mintázatait mutatja be és írja le. A szezonalitást a rajzás időbeli eloszlásával (kezdetével és végével, a hosszával, az aktivitási csúcsokkal), és a szinkronitás mértékével jellemzi. Az eredmények azt mutatják, hogy a 3 faj aciklikus rajzású és gyakran májustól szeptember végéig aktívak. A tömeges rajzásuk általában június közepétől augusztus közepéig tart. A rajzási mintázatban egy vagy több aktivitási csúcs is felléphet, amelyek ugyanazon faj esetében helytől és szezontól függően változhatnak (pl. E. tenellus). A dokumentált rajzás-mintázatok az alföldi régió néhány karakterisztikus állóvízi tegzes fajának ismeretéhez járulnak hozzá. | The study shows and describes the seasonal flight activity patterns of three caddisfly species (Ecnomus tenellus, Oecetis ochracea and Agraylea sexmaculata) collected during a two-year experimental light trapping conducted near a gallery forest in river bank (wet habitat), and in an opened sandy grassland area (dry habitat). The seasonality was characterised by the temporal distribution of flights (start and end of flight, flight length, peak of activity and modality), and the degree of synchrony between the patterns. The results showed that the three caddisfly species have non-cyclic flight type and frequently swarm from May to late-September. Their mass flight was recorded between mid-June and mid-August. One or more (2-4) activity peaks were found in the flight patterns, which were variable in the same species depending on sites and seasons (e.g. E. tenellus). The flight patterns documented here contribute to the knowledge of some characteristic caddisflies inhabiting standing water habitats of lowland region

Habitat selection of the Eurasian badger in various areas of Hungary

We examined the habitat use patterns of the Eurasian badger in one area among mountains, one among hills and one on the Great Plain of Hungary. These examinations were based on burrow estimation by striped transect, and they were carried out by categorising the habitat types in which badger burrows were detected. We found that badgers prefer forested areas, predominantly pine-forests and mixed pine-forests, for digging their burrows. They seem to avoid areas of open fields, although occasionally they do dig burrows in such areas, especially if the percentage of forest cover is low

Spider web survey or whole plant visual sampling? Impact assessment of

Impact assessment studies rely on relevant sampling methods. Correct evaluation of methods can be done by their concurrent use in the same sampling site and period. Collecting webs of Theridion impressum L. Koch (Araneae: Theridiidae) may serve as an arthropod sampling method: empty cuticles of prey items remain attached to the back side of the leaves with adhesive silk. Our study aimed to compare the applicability of the two methods concurrently (spider web survey and whole plant visual sampling) in a risk assessment study. The spider web survey recorded more predatory insect families than the whole plant visual sampling. Both methods were able to detect significant differences in the quantity of predatory insects in Bt vs. isogenic plots, but not in the same taxa (Nabidae: spider-web, 2001, Bt > Iso; Coccinellidae: plant sampling, 2001, Iso > Bt; Welsh-test, P < 0.05); thus, they could not confirm each other. The lack of confirmation can be explained by differences in the sensitivity and selectivity of the two methods. A web survey of T. impressum has the practical advantage that although we concentrate only on the one species during field sampling, we gain additional information on a wide range of foliage-dwelling arthropods. Due to several biological uncertainties, interpretation and explanation of the results remain problematic. Thus, additional research – based on in-situ observation and recording of T. impressum-prey interactions – is necessary before we could propose web survey method as a complementary tool in ecological impact assessment

Smells good, feels good: oviposition of Chrysoperla carnea-complex lacewings can be concentrated locally in the field with a combination of appropriate olfactory and tactile stimuli

Larvae of common green lacewings ( Chrysop- erla carnea species-complex) are important generalist predators, and can serve as valuable biological control agents. Since only larvae are predatory, oviposition is of crucial importance. Recently, a ternary floral bait was described, attractive to females that would then lay their eggs in the vicinity of the baits. Earlier studies have shown that females prefer to lay their eggs on spines and hairs of plants. In the present study, we tested whether the number of eggs laid could be increased by combining chemical, visual and tactile stimuli. Common green lacewings were caught equally well in baited funnel traps covered with white, yellow, fluorescent yellow, light blue or black sheets, showing no preference to any of the colours. In further tests the field effect of the ternary floral bait on the oviposition site choice of common green lacewings was confirmed, as in the absence of the bait only negligible numbers of eggs were recorded on egg-laying plates. In the presence of the ternary floral bait, lacewings laid more eggs on spiny than on smooth surfaces. Removal of previously laid eggs did not affect the number of eggs laid afterwards. Our studies demonstrated that by combining the ternary floral bait and an appropriate spiny surface, oviposition of common green lacewings can be increased and concentrated to a relatively small area. Possible practical applications are discussed