PECULIARITIES OF SEASONAL CHANGES IN THE TAXONOMIC STRUCTURE AND NUMBER OF TURUN BEETLE (COLEOPTERA, CARABIDAE) HERPETOBIA IN URBAN CENOSES OF KHARKIV

Abstract

A total of 99 species from 35 genera of Carabidae have been registered in the urban cenoses of Kharkiv. The eudominants were Harpalus affinis Schrank, 1781, H. griseus Panzer, 1797, H. rufipes De Geer, 1774. The dominants included 17 species: Notiophilus biguttatus Fabricius, 1779, N. germinyi Fauvel, 1863, Сarabus nemoralis O.Müller, 1764, Broscus cephalotes Linnaeus, 1758, Asaphidion flavipes Linnaeus, 1761, Poecilus versicolor Sturm, 1824, Pterostichus melanarius Illiger, 1798, Calathus ambiguus Paykull, 1790, C. fuscipes Goeze, 1777, Amara apricaria Paykull, 1790, A. bifrons Gyllenhal, 1810, Harpalus distinguendus Duftschmid, 1812, H. modestus Dejean, 1829, H. smaragdinus Duftschmid, 1812, H. tardus Panzer, 1797, H. xanthopus winkleri Schauberger, 1923, Panagaeus bipustulatus Fabricius, 1775. Other species are registered as rare. The total number of species was higher at household plots (46) and in the city outskirts (41 species). Fewer species are registered in cities parks, the Forest Park, and the plots of the center (33–35 species). The maximum number of species (for all cenoses) is observed in May (from 45 to 56 species depending on the year). In June and the first half of July, the species diversity decreases (to 40–42), and in August, 14– 39 species were registered. In September, a total of 25–27 species were recorded, and in the first half of October only 4–14 species. The maximum dynamic density was registered at the household plots and in the city outskirts (0.13–0.73 specimen / 1 trap-day), the minimum density of carabids was observed in the Forest Park and the plantings in the center of the city (0.03–0.06 specimen / 1 trap-day). The increase in the number of carabids began from the second half of April to mid-May, with a peak at the end of the latter month or in the first decade of June. The decline of carabids population density was registered in late June – early July, mainly in the parks. In the household plots, the plots of the center and in the city outskirts, the maximal density was registered in July – August, mainly due to increased activity of species of the genus Harpalus. In September, the density of carabids decreased sharply, and from the last decade of September until the first half of October, single individuals were observed. When comparing the seasonal changes of the sex index and the dynamic density of the dominant species (for example, C. nemoralis), the maximum population density was observed 10–20 days earlier than the maximal level of sex index.