Carabidae Research Articles

LONG-TERM (2005-2020) WINTER WHEAT PEST POPULATION DYNAMICS IN UKRAINE IN RESPONSE TO EFFECTS OF ACREAGE TREATED WITH INSECTICIDES AND CLIMATE CHANGE

We studied the long-term population dynamic`s (2005-2020) of six main insect pests of winter wheat (late wheat shoot fly, hessian fly, frit flies, cereal beetles, corn ground beetle and sun pest) in three climatic zones of Ukraine under conditions of increasing areas of application pesticides and global warming. The aim of the research was to investigate how these factors influence pest population dynamics. Comparison of sums of effective temperatures (SET) with standard values for different zones indicates significant climate warming over the past 15 years. Correlation analysis with two variables showed a general decrease in the numbers of most populations, especially in the steppe and forest-steppe zones.

Krešiči (Coleoptera: Carabidae) zgornjega toka reke Neretve v Bosni in Hercegovini

During a four-day collection period, 89 ground beetle species were found in the upper course of the Neretva valley near Ulog. Many of them are classified as riparian floodplain specialists. A large proportion of these species, such as Bembidion conforme, have their main distribution in Central Europe, but are very rare in the Balkans. Consequently, these findings form important arguments revealing the upper Neretva to be of high importance in terms of nature conservation.

Response of Spider and Epigaeic Beetle Assemblages to Overwinter Planting Regimes and Surrounding Landscape Compositions.

The rotation patterns of summer rice-winter oil seed rape and summer rice-winter fallow are the main planting regimes in the rice ecosystem in southern China. However, the impact of local rotation patterns and landscape factors on the overwintering conservation of predators in spider and epigaeic beetle assemblages remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate the diversity and density of spiders and beetles over two consecutive winters (2019/2020 and 2020/2021), focusing on the impact of two rotation patterns (rice-fallow and rice-oilseed rape) and surrounding landscape compositions on predator diversity. The main findings of our research were that spiders were more abundant and had a higher activity density in the fallow rice fields (FRs) compared to the oilseed rape fields (OSRs), whereas ground beetles exhibited the opposite pattern. Specifically, fallow rice fields supported small and ballooning spiders (e.g., dominant spider: Ummeliata insecticeps), while OSRs supported larger ground beetles (e.g., dominant beetles: Agonum chalcomus and Pterostichus liodactylus). Moreover, the composition of spider assemblages were impacted by semi-natural habitats (SNHs) during overwintering, while ground beetle assemblages were influenced by overwinter planting patterns. Overall, our results suggest that different planting regimes and preserving semi-natural habitats are a strategic way to enhance species diversity and functional diversity of ground predators. It is, therefore, recommended that to conserve and improve predator diversity during overwintering, land managers and farmers should aim to maintain diverse planting regimes and conserve local semi-natural habitats.

Sown Covers Enhance the Diversity and Abundance of Ground-Dwelling Predators in Mediterranean Pear Orchards

Intensive agriculture has a strong impact on the structure of arthropod communities in soil. Sown covers can contribute to their conservation, especially for generalist predators such as spiders and predatory beetles. The aim of this research was to assess the effect of cover crop management on the abundance and diversity of ground-dwelling arthropods. For this purpose, a three-year experiment was conducted in a pear orchard that was divided into three blocks with two plots each: one with a sown cover of mixed plants from different families, including Boraginaceae, Asteraceae, Apiaceae, Brassicaceae, and Fabaceae, and the other with no cover, in which any spontaneous plants were periodically removed without using herbicides. The abundance of ground-dwelling arthropods was sampled using pitfall traps. The sown cover increased the overall richness of arthropods. Additionally, spiders from the families Lycosidae and Linyphiidae, as well as beetles from the families Carabidae and Staphylinidae, were more abundant in the sown cover. Conversely, detritivores such as collembolans and beetles from the family Tenebrionidae were less abundant in the cover. The abundance of ants was not affected by the type of cover. The sown cover increased the diversity of arthropods in the crop, as well as the abundance of generalist predators.

A New and Little-Known Species of the Ground Beetle Genus Nebria Subgenus Falcinebria Ledoux and Roux, 2005 (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from Japan

A New and Little-Known Species of the Ground Beetle Genus Nebria Subgenus Falcinebria Ledoux and Roux, 2005 (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from Japan

Common edible insects in Africa of therapeutic value - A review of their nutritional composition and their entomoceuticals values

Entomotherapy is fast becoming popular based on the ubiquitous nature of insects. The use of insects in whole form or their derived products is gaining ground worldwide. Insects being ubiquitous makes their extracts easily available for use. Just as therapeutic agents, entomoceuticals, which are derived from pharmaceutical products from insects, play an important role in health improvement. Edible insects have been shown to be important sources for most entomoceuticals. Some species of these insects possess systems capable of generating numerous bioactive components and metabolites, which have major value in the pharmaceutical industry. Although these insects are found in almost all continents of the world, including continents like Europe and Asia, often using them in medicine, less attention has been focused on their use in therapy in most parts of Africa. In this paper, ten edible insects commonly consumed in Africa (African Palm weevil, Cockroaches, Black ants, Termites, Ground beetles, Grasshopper, Black soldier fly, Honeybees, Mole crickets and caterpillars) were selected and evaluated for their chemical and nutritional composition, including their therapeutic benefits. The review comprises a literature search on medicinal insects generated from the Web of Science and Google Scholar databases. Knowledge of these insects will help sensitise communities in Africa to their importance in their rearing for food and exploitation in the field of medicine, which will serve as an easier means of combatting disease plaguing Africa.

Ground beetle assemblages inhabiting various age classes of Norway spruce stands in north-eastern Poland.

Assemblages of epigeic ground beetles living in Norway spruce forests in north-eastern Poland in three age ranges: young: 20-30 years (A); middle-aged: 40-50 years (B); old: 70-80 years (C) were investigated. In each age category, 4 plots with 5 Barber traps were set up. Ground beetle assemblages were compared in terms of their abundance, species richness, and the Shannon H' index value. Quantitative ecological description of the carabids captured in the analysed age-classes of Norway spruce forests was performed, and the values of the mean individual biomass (MIB) were calculated. To determine the correlation between mean individual biomass and abundance of various ecological groups of carabid beetles, the Spearman rank correlation coefficient was calculated. The assemblages of ground beetles living in the Norway spruce forests in north-eastern Poland were characterised by quite large species richness (44 species in total). There were significant differences in species richness among the different ages of Norway spruce forests. The oldest Norway spruce stands (70-80 years old) had a smaller number of species and specimens of ground beetles as well as the highest MIB values in comparison with the younger spruce forests A and B. The results revealed that high MIB values were positively correlated with the presence of large ground beetle species with higher moisture requirements. Lower values of the MIB index were due to the presence of smaller open habitat macropterous species, with the spring type of breeding and associated with open areas.

Faunal Zoning South of Eastern Siberia and Northern Mongolia Using the Example of the Ground Beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

Faunal Zoning South of Eastern Siberia and Northern Mongolia Using the Example of the Ground Beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Growth and Production in Main Square System Treatment with Liquid Organic Fertilizer of Gold Snails (Pomacea caniculata L.) and Citronella Oil (Cymbopogon nardus (L.) Rendle)

The use of artificial chemicals as fertilizers and pesticides can endanger the health of the environment and consumers, so the potential utilization of natural materials as fertilizers and pesticides needs to be increased from local sources such as golden snails and citronella. The experiment aims to get the best interaction between golden snail Liquid Organic Fertilizer (LOF) and citronella oil for rice growth and production. The experiment was carried out in the paddy fields of Jorong Paraman Ampalu, Gunung Tuleh District, West Pasaman Regency from September 2020 to January 2021 using an RBD of 2 factors with 3 replications. The first factor was the golden snail LOF concentration, namely: 0, 100, 200, and 300 ml/L. The second factor was the citronella oil concentration, namely: 0, 10, 20, and 30 ml/L. Data were analyzed with ANOVA and DNMRT at 5% and 1%. The experimental results showed that the interaction between golden snail LOF and citronella oil concentration accelerated flowering, increased panicle length, grain weight, and dry grain production per hectare, while the golden snail LOF concentration factor increased plant height, maximum number of tillers and productive tillers, panicle length, number of grains per panicle, and 1000 grain weight. The highest grain production was obtained at concentrations of golden snails LOF of 200 ml/L and citronella oils 20 ml/L, namely 9.18 t/ha. The frequency of attacks by ground beetles and golden snails decreased at a concentration of 30 ml/L citronella oil, while stink bug infestation frequency was reduced at a concentration of 10 ml/L.

The genome sequence of a ground beetle, Pterostichus niger (Schaller, 1783).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Pterostichus niger (a ground beetle; Arthropoda; Insecta; Coleoptera; Carabidae). The genome sequence is 674.1 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 19 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 17.16 kilobases in length.

Fourteen new species of the genus Nesamblyops Jeannel (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Anillini) from the South Island of New Zealand with redescription of the genus and description of a new subtribe.

Fourteen new species of flightless litter ground beetles of the tribe Anillini, genus Nesamblyops, from the South Island of New Zealand, are described. The only hitherto described species from the South Island, Nesamblyops subcaecus (Broun), is similar to the new species from Southland, N. viator n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, Fiordland, Resolution Island), based on the structure of male genitalia. The species assembly inhabiting the northwest corner of the South Island comprises two partly sympatric groups composed of three related allopatric species each. The first group includes N. canaanensis n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, Nelson, Abel Tasman National Park, Canaan area), N. hobbit n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, Nelson, Kahurangi National Park, Mt Domett), and N. ovipennis n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, Nelson, Kahurangi National Park, Mt Arthur). The second group represents another lineage and contains N. rotundicollis n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, Nelson, Kahurangi National Park, Onekaka area), N. solitarius n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, West Coast, western foothills of Victoria Range, Capleston area), and N. subrufus n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, West Coast, Upper Buller Gorge, Dublin Terrace). Three additional species known from the northwest corner of the South Island, based on the structure of male genitalia, are unrelated to each other and remaining species of the region. These are N. karamea n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, West Coast, Kahurangi National Park, the Karamea River Gorge area), N. montanus n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, Nelson, Kahurangi National Park, Lake Sylvester area), and N. kuscheli n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, Nelson, Kahurangi National Park, Mt Arthur). The latter species is presumably closely related to the species from the central parts of the West Coast, N. moorei n. sp., (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, West Coast, Ngahere area, Mawhera Forest). Additionally, the central part of the West Coast is inhabited by a small group of two species, N. disjunctus n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, West Coast, E slope of the Paparoa Range, Fletcher Creek area), and N. victoriae n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, West Coast, Victoria Range, Capleston area). According to the structure of the male genitalia, this group represents a separate lineage within the genus. The most unusual structure of male genitalia belongs to a species without eyes, a trait previously unknown in Nesamblyops, N. magnificus n. sp. (type locality: New Zealand, South Island, Coastal Otago, Allison Conservation Area) that inhabits the southeast corner of the South Island. Digital images of habitus, body parts, drawings of genitalia, as well as distribution maps are provided for all described species. Morphological evidence of the isolated position of Nesamblyops within the tribe Anillini is discussed, with a focus on the morphological comparison of Nesamblyops with the members of Anillini, Tachyini, Bembidiini, Zolini, and Sinozolini, and on the data of published molecular analyses. A new subtribe for the representatives of the genus, Nesamblyopina, n. subtr., is proposed; the newly discovered morphological characters have been incorporated in the redescription of the genus.

Description of a Highly Modified Endemic Ground Beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) from the Oceanic Island of Malpelo, Colombia

The oceanic island of Malpelo, 380 km west of the Colombian mainland, stands out from other islands of the Tropical Eastern Pacific by its harsh environment and depauperate flora and fauna, thus imposing strong selective pressure on the small number of invertebrates that inhabit it. The endemic taxon described here, Dyscolus (Cacothrix) malpelensis, n. subgen., n. sp. (Carabidae, Platynini), is a remarkable example of adaptation to this unique ecosystem. The modifications of its body shape, including a tight coaptation of elytra and pronotum, might be a response to strong environmental constraints, from predation by lizards and land crabs to the absence of deep soil that forces the beetle to seek shelter in caves and rock crevices.

A long-term case study indicates improvements in floodplain biodiversity after river restoration

Natural floodplains are complex systems embodying an interwoven network of biodiverse aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Many floodplains have been impaired and disconnected from the river, leading to declines in biodiversity. River restorations often affect floodplains, yet monitoring programs rarely investigate effects on floodplain organisms. This study examined a river restoration project, which improved river hydromorpholgy and partly reconnected the adjacent floodplain. We applied a ‘control–impact’ design to investigate changes in floodplain community composition and diversity four, six, eight, and ten years after the restoration of the Nidda River in central Germany. Investigated taxonomic groups included ground beetles, birds, dragonflies, and spiders. We examined trends of abundance, richness, Shannon diversity, Shannon evenness, and temporal turnover over time post-restoration by comparing restored sites to a non-restored control site. Abundance and diversity increased in bird, dragonfly, and spider communities after the restoration. Effect sizes between restored and unrestored sites were mainly positive, indicating that restoration benefitted the investigated taxonomic groups. However, initially high abundance and diversity numbers of ground beetles declined at the restored sites over time, indicating differing responses across taxonomic groups. Our study accentuates and underlines the necessity for ongoing post-restoration monitoring of both floodplain and aquatic biota.

Bridging the Gaps: Exploring Aquatic–Terrestrial Connectivity through the Trait-Based Ecology of Riparian Predatory Arthropods

Riparian predatory arthropods represent one of the main trophic links between lotic and terrestrial ecosystems along riverine landscapes. The use of the trait-based approach promises to enhance our understanding of how these predatory communities interact with their environment through their response to various drivers of change and through their trophic interactions. We reviewed the scientific literature focused on the interaction between drivers of community change (natural and anthropogenic) and the functional traits and functional diversity components that characterize riparian ground beetles and spiders and, ultimately, on their role as cross-ecosystem trophic links. We highlight land use changes and river regulations as the strongest drivers that change the communities we study, often through various interacting mechanisms that favor the replacement of riparian specialists with generalist species, thus altering aquatic–terrestrial connectivity and the resilience of riverine arthropod consumers. Tropical regions and traits related to community responses to extreme climatic events (e.g., submersion tolerance and desiccation resistance) are less studied, while inconsistent patterns are noticed for well-studied traits, especially for spiders (e.g., their feeding preference response to aquatic subsidy availability and their body size response to flooding and bank hydrological connectivity). Future research should focus on the aforementioned drivers and knowledge gaps, along with the functional diversity changes in predatory arthropod communities along environmental and anthropogenic impact gradients, in order to improve riparian conservation.

Who eats the yellowmargined leaf beetle? Field observations and genetic surveillance to identify local predators of a novel invasive pest

The yellowmargined leaf beetle, Microtheca ochroloma Stahl (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), invaded the Southeastern United States and rapidly emerged as a leading pest of crucifer crops, yet little is known about which native predators might effectively provide biological control. The objective of this research is to identify potential predators of this understudied invader through field observation and genetic surveillance. Over two years, arthropods were surveyed on a variety of susceptible Brassica cultivars and a shortlist of commonly associated predators was developed. In a survey of turnip plants in year 1, lady beetles were positively predicted by densities of M. ochroloma, suggesting a numerical response to densities of the invasive pest. Surveys at a different site in year 2 revealed that big-eyed bugs were also positively predicted by M. ochroloma, while pink-spotted lady beetles negatively associated, suggesting a pattern of suppression. Ants (primarily the red imported fire ant) and spiders were commonly observed predators on plants in both years, but neither associated with densities of M. ochroloma. No predators were observed consuming M. ochroloma eggs. Molecular gut-content analysis using specially generated M. ochroloma primers confirmed the observed predatory links and suggested a density-dependent tracking response from pink-spotted lady beetles and ground beetles also have density-dependent tracking re Table 3. Our results may enable farmers to bolster these predator populations with fine-tuned habitat management tools and better suppress the spreading pest.

Carabidae and Tenebrionidae diversity in the Great Basin Province of California.

The high desert regions of eastern California within the Great Basin are vast areas of shrub-dominated habitat heavily impacted by invasive exotic grasses and forbs. Trapping efforts within these areas provided distributional information about various surface-active arthropod taxa. Two groups with high species diversity and abundance encountered at our sites were the coleopteran families Carabidae and Tenebrionidae. Here, we report trapping of 45 species of carabids and 46 species of tenebrionids, along with mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequence data for 65 of these 92 species. These results build upon existing distributional information regarding these families in California and further refine our knowledge of the biodiversity of the understudied Great Basin provinces.

Inverted Soil Mounding as a Restoration Approach of Seismic Lines in Boreal Peatlands: Implications on Plant and Arthropod Abundance and Diversity

In northern Alberta, Canada, much of treed boreal peatlands are fragmented by seismic lines—linear disturbances where trees and shrubs are cleared for the exploration of fossil fuel reserves. Seismic lines have been shown to have slow tree regeneration, likely due to the loss of microtopography during the creation of seismic lines. Inverted soil mounding is one of the treatments commonly applied in Alberta to restore seismic lines and mitigate the use of these corridors by wildlife and humans. We assessed the effects of mounding on understory plants and arthropod assemblages three years after treatment application. We sampled five mounded and five untreated seismic lines and their adjacent treed fens (reference fens). Compared to reference fens, mounded seismic lines showed on average lower bryophyte (6.5% vs. 98.1%) and total understory cover (47.2% vs. 149.8%), ground-dwelling spider abundance (226.0 vs. 383 individuals), richness (87.2 vs. 106.4 species) and diversity (19.0 vs. 24.6 species), rove beetle abundance (35.2 vs. 84.8 individuals), and ant richness (9.0 vs. 12.9 species). In contrast, rove beetle and ground beetle richness (39.0 and 14.5 species, respectively) and diversity (16.8 and 7.8 species, respectively) were higher on mounded seismic lines compared to reference fens (richness: 18.0 and 7.5 species, respectively; diversity: 7.0 and 3.8 species, respectively). This is one of the first studies to assess arthropod responses to restoration efforts in the context of oil and gas disturbances in North America, and our results highlight the need to incorporate multiple taxa when examining the impact of such treatments.

Limited congruence in phylogeographic patterns observed for riverine predacious beetles sharing distribution along the mountain rivers

Riverine predacious beetles (RPB) (Carabidae, Staphylinidae) are highly diverse and numerous elements of riverine ecosystems. Their historical and contemporary distribution and diversity are highly dependent on natural flow regimes and topography of watercourses. Despite broad knowledge of their ecology, data on population genetic diversity and connectivity are lacking. This study aimed to fill this gap in order to solve two principal hypotheses assuming (i) congruence of phylogeographic patterns observed for RPB indicating that they share a common history and the ecological adaptations to the dynamic environment, (ii) genetic structuration of populations according to river basins. The Carpathian populations of four ground beetles and three rove beetles were examined using cytochrome oxidase and arginine kinase sequencing. There are substantial differences in RPB demographic history and current genetic diversity. Star-like phylogeny of Bembidion and complex haplotype networks of Paederus/Paederidus, with some haplotypes being drainage-specific and others found in distant populations, indicate a general lack of isolation by distance. Signs of recent demographic expansion were detected for most RPB with the latest population collapse for some rove beetles. To some extent, migration of examined species has to be limited by watersheds. Observed phylogeographic patterns are essential for correctly understanding RPB meta-population functioning.

Niche differentiation of arthropods and plants along small-scale gradients in temporary wetlands (kettle holes)

Small temporary wetlands, like kettle holes, provide many valuable ecosystem functions and serve as refuge habitats in otherwise monotonous agricultural landscapes. However, the mechanisms that maintain biodiversity in these habitats are still poorly understood. In this study, we investigate how three taxa (vascular plants, ground beetles and spiders) respond to small-scale flooding and disturbance gradients in kettle holes as well as kettle hole area. For this purpose, we determined total, hygrophilic and red list species richness for all taxa and activity density for arthropods along transects extending from the edge towards the center of kettle holes. Furthermore, we calculated the community-weighted mean body size for arthropods and seed mass for plants as surrogates for the ability to respond to disturbance. Our analyses revealed that in particular plants and ground beetles showed strong responses along the small-scale spatial gradient. Total plant species richness decreased towards the center, while hygrophilic plant species increased. In contrast, both total and hygrophilic species richness of ground beetles increased towards the center. Spiders showed similar responses as ground beetles, but less pronounced. We found no evidence that disturbance at the edge of kettle holes leads to smaller body sizes or seed masses. However, arthropods in adjacent arable fields (one meter from the kettle hole edge) were particularly small. Kettle hole area had only weak effects on plants, but not on arthropods. Our study indicates that differences in the depth at the drier edge and the moist, regularly flooded center have a large and taxon-dependent influence on the species composition. Therefore, small-scale heterogeneity seems to be an important predictor for the maintenance of species diversity.

Regional sets of diverse, specialized ground beetle and plant assemblages recolonise China’s restored temperate forest landscapes

Following the historic destruction of China’s forests, large protected forest landscapes have been reestablishment across the country in recent decades. Currently, the species assemblages inhabiting these landscapes remain widely unknown. Here, we aim to establish whether the new temperate forest landscapes in Eastern China, composed of plantation, secondary and remnant mature forest patches, are dominated by widely distributed habitat generalists, widely distributed habitat specialists, or by sets of highly localized forest habitat specialist species, using vascular plants and ground beetles as case studies. We sampled plants and ground beetles on 159 plots representing different forest types distributed across ten study regions. The Chord-normalized expected species shared (CNESS) dissimilarity for beetles and Jaccard dissimilarity for plants were calculated to establish species’ turnover patterns, while we used structural equation and multiple regression models for dissimilarity matrices to establish the relative importance of location, elevation and biotic interactions in explaining large-scale distribution patterns of species assemblages. Both taxa showed highly regionalized recruitment, with plant communities responding strongly to latitude, and to geographic location in general, while the composition of ground beetle communities appeared strongly governed by both the composition of the vegetation and study plot location. Both assemblages showed a distinct lack of widespread habitat generalists. Our results demonstrate for the first time that local assemblages of forest specialist species appear to have survived last century’s deforestation in unknown refugia before successfully re-colonizing China’s restored forest ecosystems. We argue that restored forest landscapes can play a significant role in the conservation of temperate China’s biodiversity at both local and regional scales.