Habitat associations of Agathidium pulchellum, an endangered old-growth forest beetle species living on slime moulds

Abstract

The beetle genus Agathidium is the largest insect group documented that principally feeds on slime moulds. Agathidium pulchellum, one of the rarest Agathidium species in Europe, is listed in the EU’s Habitats Directive. We studied the habitat associations of A. pulchellum in 44 sites located in old-growth and managed forests in eastern Finland. Agathidium pulchellum occurred exclusively on the slime-mould species Trichia decipiens. The host was associated with mid-decayed aspen, spruce and birch logs, and its incidence grew with both increasing log diameter and stand-level log density of spruce and aspen. We also observed that even if its host was present, the beetle was absent from sites with less than 80 aspen and spruce logs per hectare. All sites with A. pulchellum were natural forests of high conservation value. Our results show that it is possible to systematically survey the occurrence of A. pulchellum.