Rove Beetle Species Research Articles

Description of the world’s first troglobitic Pselaphini: Geopselaphus bullonorum sp. nov. from southern Spain (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae)

A new Pselaphinae rove beetle species belonging to the genus Geopselaphus Jeannel, 1956, G. bullonorumsp. nov., from a cave in south Spain is described and diagnosed. Important morphological features of the new species are listed and photographed. The new species shows a significant troglomorphy, such as the reduction of the eyes (only three unpigmented ommatidia) and an extraordinary general elongation of the body (especially the head) and appendages (antennae, maxillary palps and legs). Being the first troglomorphic Pselaphini known worldwide.

Significance to the Horticulture Industry

Significance to the Horticulture Industry

Influence of Selected Environmental Parameters on Rove Beetle (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) Communities in Central European Floodplain Forests

Wetlands and especially floodplain forests belong to the most endangered ecosystems in Europe, characterized by complex dynamics of flood and dry periods and providing specific irreplaceable habitats for many organisms, including bioindicators. Many rove beetle species, for instance, are well-known detectors in monitoring ecological change, however, their use in environmental assessment requires to expand the insufficient knowledge on ecological environmental particularities of their assemblages. Therefore, we compared the rove beetle communities in eight habitats of floodplain forests from 2015 to 2016. Staphylinids were sampled by pitfall trapping. We compared the rove beetle taxocoenoses in the floodplain forests and their ecotones alongside three rivers (Danube, Tisa and Begej). We evaluated the impact of plant diversity and cover of vegetation layers, area, circumference and age of forest stands, distance to the forest edge, thickness of the litter layer, physical and chemical properties of soil and leaf litter (conductivity, pH, P, N, H, C) and anthropogenic impact on structure of rove beetle communities. We recorded significant interactions between total dynamic activity of rove beetles and number of plant species in shrub vegetation layer. Species richness was significantly positively correlated with number of plant species in shrub vegetation layer and soil pH, and negatively with relative H content of soil. We did not find any significant correlation between Shannon diversity, but evenness was negatively linked with species richness of plant communities in shrub layer.

Coppicing and topsoil removal promote diversity of dung‐inhabiting beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Geotrupidae, Staphylinidae) in forests

AbstractCentral European forests experience a substantial loss of open‐forest organisms due to forest management and increasing nitrogen deposition. However, management strategies, removing different levels of nitrogen, have been rarely evaluated simultaneously. We tested the additive effects of coppicing and topsoil removal on communities of dung‐inhabiting beetles compared to closed forests. We sampled 57 021 beetles, using baited pitfall traps exposed on 27 plots. Experimental treatments resulted in significantly different communities by promoting open‐habitat species. While alpha diversity did not differ among treatments, gamma diversity of Geotrupidae and Scarabaeidae and beta diversity of Staphylinidae were higher in coppice than in forest. Functional diversity of rove beetles was higher in both, coppice and topsoil‐removed plots, compared to control plots. This was likely driven by higher habitat heterogeneity in established forest openings. Five dung beetle species and four rove beetle species benefitted from coppicing, one red‐listed dung beetle and two rove beetle species benefitted from topsoil removal. Our results demonstrate that dung‐inhabiting beetles related to open forest patches can be promoted by both, coppicing and additional topsoil removal. A mosaic of coppice and bare‐soil‐rich patches can hence promote landscape‐level gamma diversity of dung and rove beetles within forests.

Two new light attracted rove beetle species of Astenus Dejean, 1833 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae) from Kerala, India

Two new light attracted species of rove beetles of the genus Astenus Dejean, 1833 (Astenus keralensis sp. nov. and Astenus rougemonti sp. nov.) from Malabar coastal plains of northern Kerala in southern India are described, illustrated, and compared to closely related species. First report of Astenus kraatzi Bernhauer, 1902 from Indian mainland and a checklist and key to all 41 species of Astenus recorded from the Indian mainland are provided.

Temporal variability of the rove beetle (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) community on small vertebrate carrion and its potential use for forensic entomology

Rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) are one of the most important colonizers of vertebrate cadavers. We have previously investigated carrion-associated rove beetle communities across various forests and demonstrated that the study regions are the main drivers of the local rove beetle species pool that is, in turn, able to colonize a carcass. Nevertheless, little is known about their temporal variation in community composition during the decomposition process. The aim of our study has been to analyze the temporal changes of the composition of the rove beetle community and to identify new, potentially useful candidate species for forensic entomological evaluations. We determined 80 rove beetle species that were attracted to 60 piglet cadavers across various forest stands in Germany. Both the abundance and the community composition changed over the decomposition process, independently of the species-specific geographical variation across study regions. In the region Schorfheide-Chorin, species from the genus Philonthus proved to be a suitable group for future forensic entomological investigations. They appeared in markedly high numbers at piglet cadavers from the bloated stage until the advanced decay stage. For the study region Schwäbische Alb, we newly describe the species Omalium septentrionis as a member of the carrion-associated rove beetle fauna. Based on the geographical variation in rove beetle community compositions, we have filtered out several species that might contribute to advances in postmortem interval estimations or other applied fields in forensic entomological contexts.

Материалы к фауне стафилинид (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) тундр Камчатки (подсемейства Steninae, Euaesthetinae, Paederinae и Staphylininae)

The article presents results of summarizing publications and studying the material collected in various districts of Kamchatka. 22 species of rove beetles from 7 genera, belonging to the Steninae, Euaesthetinae, Paederinae, and Staphylininae subfamilies, are recorded for the Kamchatka tundra fauna. Species identity of Quedius (Raphirus) cf. fellmani (Zetterstedt, 1838), Q. (R.) cf. fulvicollis (Stephens, 1833), and Q. (R.) cf. sublimbatus Mäklin, 1853 from the subfamily Staphylininae requires updating. An annotated list has been compiled. Collecting localities are mapped.

Contribution to the knowledge of the arthropods community inhabiting the winter-flooded meadows (marcite) of northern Italy.

BackgroundFlooded semi-natural grasslands are endangered ecosystems throughout Europe. In Italy, amongst flooded meadows, one special type called “marcita” is strongly threatened. It is a stable flooded grassland used to produce green forage even during winter months due to the thermal properties of water coming from springs and fountains that prevent the soil from freezing. To date, some research has been carried out to investigate the role of the marcita for ornithological and herpetological communities. However, no comprehensive data on invertebrates inhabiting this particular biotope available. The aim of this study was to characterise the terrestrial entomological community of these typical winter-flooded meadows in northern Italy and, in particular, in six marcita fields located in the Ticino Valley Regional Park. We collected data on species richness and diversity of Carabidae, Staphylinidae, Araneae, Lepidoptera and Orthoptera inhabiting marcita during the summers of 2014 and 2015 and data on overwintering Coleoptera during the winter of 2014-2015. Amongst the collected species, we identified those highly linked to this habitat.New informationWe found a total of 47 ground beetle species, 35 rove beetle species, 29 spider species, one Lucanidae, 16 butterfly species and 24 grasshopper and cricket species. Most of the species were collected during the summers of 2014 and 2015, while some others were also, or exclusively, overwintering (17 ground beetles, four rove beetles and one Lucanidae) and were collected during the winter of 2014-2015.Marcita fields hosted specialised species and species typical of hygrophilous habitats, amongst which are included the butterfly Lycaena dispar, the ground beetle Dolichus halensis and the grasshopper Chrysochraon dispar. This study represents the first contribution to the knowledge of terrestrial arthropod communities associated with this particular type of winter-irrigated meadow in Europe and confirms the importance of this biotope for invertebrate conservation in agricultural landscapes.

Seasonal dynamics of dominant species of soil predators (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Staphylinidae) in agrolandscapes and their potential gluttony

We studied the seasonal change in the number of dominant species of predatory beetles on vegetable crops and determined their potential gluttony. A total of 1,472 beetles were collected, belonging to 22 species of ground beetles (Carabidae) and 27 species of rove beetles (Staphylinidae). The dominant species are: Harpalus rufipes (De Geer, 1774) (17.6% dominance), Amara fulva (De Geer) (13.28%), Bembidion properans (Stephens, 1828) (10.39%), Trechus quadristriatus (Schrank, 1781) (6.20%), Calathus melanocephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) (5.39%), Poecilus cupreus Linnaeus, 1758 (5.3%), Bembidion femoratum Sturm, 1825 (5.10%), Aleochara bilineata, (Gyllenhaal, 1810) (17.6%), Aloconota gregagia (Erichson, 1839) (10.21%), Amischa analis (Gravenhorst, 1802) (6.01%), Amischa bifoveotata (Mannerheim, 1830) (5.41%). During the season, there is a change in dominant species. At the beginning of the season, smaller species dominate, while larger species dominate in the second half of the plant vegetation. The maximum number of predators are observed in June and August. The periods of the maximum abundance of ground beetles and rove beetles do not coincide in time, which is the evolutionary adaptation of two groups of predators that coexist. In laboratory experiments, when pest eggs were offered as food, Aleochara bilineata and Bembidion femoratum were the most voracious. Larger predator species showed high voracity when larvae of flies were offered as food.

Soil invertebrates occurrences in European North-East of Russia.

BackgroundThe European North-East of Russia is the territory which includes the Nenets Autonomous District, represented by the East European tundra (from Kanin Peninsula to Vaigach Island), Komi Republic with its taiga ecosystems and the Urals (Northern, SubPolar and Polar). Over 20 years of systematic studies of soil fauna in the studied region has resulted in a huge amount of data being accumulated that can be analysed from different positions. Considering that the representation of Russian soil biota data, especially from European North-East of Russia in the GBIF database is not large, our data are of great interest to the scientific world community. The accumulation of such data will solve questions on national and global scales using large arrays.This study produced a dataset containing information on occurrences on soil invertebrates (Lumbricidae, Chilopoda, Diplopda, Collembola, Elateridae and Staphylinidae) in the European North-East of Russia. The dataset summarises occurrences noted in natural and disturbed forests, tundra and mountain ecosystems.New informationData from 196 geo-referenced localities of European North-East of Russia (tundra, taiga and mountains ecosystems) have been collated. A total of 5412 occurrences are included in the resource. The current project surveys 13 species of earthworms, 20 species of millipedes, 246 species of springtails, 446 species of rove beetles and 60 species of click beetles. The diversity of soil invertebrates in the European North-East of Russia has not been fully explored and further exploration will lead to more taxa.

Local and Landscape Effects on Carrion-Associated Rove Beetle (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) Communities in German Forests.

Simple SummaryIncreasing forest management practices by humans are threatening inherent insect biodiversity and thus important ecosystem services provided by them. One insect group which reacts sensitively to habitat changes are the rove beetles contributing to the maintenance of an undisturbed insect succession during decomposition by mainly hunting fly maggots. However, little is known about carrion-associated rove beetles due to poor taxonomic knowledge. In our study, we unveiled the human-induced and environmental drivers that modify rove beetle communities on vertebrate cadavers. At German forest sites selected by a gradient of management intensity, we contributed to the understanding of the rove beetle-mediated decomposition process. One main result is that an increasing human impact in forests changes rove beetle communities by promoting generalist and more open-habitat species coping with low structural heterogeneity, whereas species like Philonthus decorus get lost. Our results are not solely important for carrion ecological, but also for forensic entomological assessments on crime scenes, e.g., postmortem body relocation, because little information is available until now about rove beetles as one of the most important insect groups on bodies.Intensification of anthropogenic land use is a major threat to biodiversity and thus to essential ecosystem services provided by insects. Rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), which react sensitively to habitat changes, are species-rich colonizers of vertebrate cadavers and contribute to the important ecosystem service of carrion decomposition. The unveiling of anthropogenic and environmental drivers that modify carrion-associated rove beetle communities should improve our understanding of the plasticity of cadaver decay. We report the presence of 80 rove beetle species on 65 decomposing piglet cadavers at forest sites characterized by a gradient of management intensity across three geographic regions in Germany. Local and landscape drivers were revealed that shape beetle abundance, diversity, and community composition. Forest management and regions affect rove beetle abundance, whereas diversity is influenced by local habitat parameters (soil pH, litter cover) and regions. The community composition of rove beetles changes with management intensification by promoting generalist species. Regarding single species, Philonthus decorus and Anotylus mutator are linked to unmanaged forests and Ontholestes tessellatus to highly used forest stands. The spatial information provided about carrion-associated rove beetle communities in German forests is not only of carrion-ecological but also of forensic entomological interest.

Rove Beetles (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) under the Conditions of Anthropogenic Agrolandscape Transformation in Northwestern Russia

As many as 147 species of rove beetles (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) were found in the model agricultural landscape in Northwestern Russia. Cluster analysis showed that Staphylinidae complexes in cultivated lands were different from those in adjacent habitats: field margins, forest edges, and natural meadows. Rove beetles had higher species diversity in the agrocenoses of perennial grasses (clover, timothy grass), as compared with those subject to severe anthropogenic transformation (potatoes, grain crops, annual herbs).

A new species of Edrabius Fauvel (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylininae) from Uruguay.

A new rove beetle species, Edrabius uruguayensis Martínez-Villar, González-Vainer Tomasco, sp. nov., associated with the subterranean rodent Ctenomys rionegrensis in Uruguay, is described and illustrated. Photographs, scanning electron micrographs and drawings of the diagnostic character states are provided. The new species is compared with other species of the genus. Nucleotide sequence of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I was reported for the first time for the genus and phylogenetic reconstruction confirms their close relationship with the other genus used from the tribe Amblyopinini (Heterothops).

A new fossil species of the rove beetle subfamily Protopselaphinae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

ABSTRACT Protopselaphinae is a monogeneric subfamily of Staphylinidae comprising eight extant and one extinct species of minute rove beetles. We describe a tenth species of this enigmatic subfamily, Protopselaphus newtoni sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (~99 Ma). Protopselaphus newtoni sp. nov. differs from its congeners in its smaller body size and antennal structure. Uniquely, the apical maxillary palpomere of the new species is longer than maxillary palpomere 3. A key to the extant and fossil members of the genus Protopselaphus is provided. Extinct species of the subfamily Protopselaphinae are smaller than extant species, a trend also apparent in some other beetle lineages present in Burmese amber, opening new questions about the evolution of insect body size in the Mesozoic.

List of Staphylinids of Lagodekhi Reserve with some new records from Sakartvelo (Georgia)

The rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) are one of the most diverse families of beetles comprising more than 63650 species worldwide (Irmler et al. 2018). It is the best studied coleopteran family in Georgia (Herman, 2001; Schülke Smetana, 2015), with more than 750 species recorded (Tarkhnishvili Chaladze, 2019). The first records of Staphylinidae from Lagodekhi were reported by Zhizhilashvili (1941), who recorded 12 species of rove beetles from the reserve: Anotylus hybridus Eppelsheim, 1878 as Oxytelus; Anotylus gibbulus Eppelsheim, 1878 as Oxytelus; Xantholinus variabilis Hochhuth, 1851; Cordalia obscura Gravenhorst; Philonthus parvicornis Gravenhorst, 1802 as P. agilis Gravenhorst; Stenus circularis Gravenhorst, 1802 as S. clavulus Hochhuth; S. cribratus Kiesenwetter, 1850; Tachyporus hypnorum (Fabricius, 1775); Ocypus nitens (Schrank, 1781) as Staphylinus similis Fabricius; Quedius minor Hochhuth, 1849 as Q. distincticolor Roubal; Aleochara intricata Mannerheim; Olophrum caucasicum Fauvel, 1875. The record of Medon bicolor (Olivier, 1795) (as Sunius) in the same paper is erroneous because the species is absent from Georgia. Coiffait (1969) described Quedius grouziacus as a new species from Lagodekhi, however the species was later synonymized with Q. suramensis Epelsheim, 1880 by Solodovnikov (2002). Ushakov (1988) recorded Gauropterus sanguinipes Reitter, 1889, Gyrohypnus angustatus Stephens,1832 and Atrecus affinis (Paykull, 1789) as Baptolinus affinis caucasius Roubal, 1933. Gusarov and Koval (2002) registered Korgella caucasica (Gusarov Koval, 2002; Özdikmen, 2005), as Heinzia. Later Shavrin Khachikov (2019) added Acrolocha amabilis (Heer, 1841) which was new to the staphylinid fauna of Georgia. There have been no other focused studies on the Staphylinidae of Lagodekhi Protected Areas (LPA), though we recognize that there are likely further records in the literature.

Response of ground and rove beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Staphylinidae) to operational oil sands mine reclamation in northeastern Alberta, a case study

Species loss caused by anthropogenic disturbance threatens forest ecosystems globally. Until 50 years ago, the major sources of boreal forest disturbance in western Canada were a combination of forest wild fire events, pest insect outbreaks, and forest timber harvesting. However, in the 1960s, when the oil boom started in Alberta, oil and gas development along with oil sands mining quickly became another major forest disturbance agent. In this case study we report the effects of operational oil sands mine reclamation on terrestrial arthropod communities and compare them with nearby burned and mature forest sites as a way to provide a benchmark from which to understand the long-term trajectory of recovery for these groups. During the summer of 2016 over 6700 epigaeic beetles were collected using pitfall traps. A total of 43 species of ground beetles and 118 species of rove beetles were collected. Epigaeic beetle assemblages differed between the reclaimed, burned, and mature forest sites. Partitioning of beta diversity in the reclaimed, burned areas and mature forests indicated that species turnover formed the largest component of diversity. Species richness patterns were similar among sites; however, cluster analysis indicated that epigaeic beetle assemblages were only 20% similar between the reclaimed and natural sites. Although ground beetles of the reclaimed area showed positive spatial autocorrelation among treatments, both ground and rove beetles showed responses to the reclamation treatments. The reclaimed areas were dominated by small- to medium-sized open-habitat eurytopic species, whereas the fire and mature forest sites were dominated by larger forest species. The reclaimed area of this case study constitutes a novel, reconstructed ecosystem that is clearly not equivalent in species assemblage to burnt stands of similar age or to mature forest stands.

Rove beetles collected with carrion traps (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in Quercus forest of Cerro de García, Jalisco and Quercus, Quercus-pine, and pine forests in other jurisdictions of Mexico.

We present the species diversity of rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) collected with carrion baited traps in Quercus forests of Cerro de García, Jalisco, and provide a compilation of published species records in Quercus, Quercus-pine and pine forests in other jurisdictions of Mexico. This work includes taxonomic notes, information on species phenology, distribution, and their occurrence in Cerro de García (if applicable), and other jurisdictions of Mexico. In Cerro de García, 75 species were collected in total, of which 16 are shared with other Quercus forests in different locations, and 9 species are provided with new habitat data. The remaining individuals were only determined to morphospecies. In Mexico, there are 77 known species of rove beetles collected with carrion traps (determined to species or near species) and recorded from Quercus, Quercus-pine and pine forests. These species belong to 30 genera, 11 tribes and 10 subfamilies. This study provides biological information on Mexican rove beetles captured with carrion traps and highlights the importance of rove beetles as indicator species of habitat change for conservation analysis, forestry, agronomy and forensic sciences studies.

Ecogeographic patterns in a mainland-island system in Northern Europe as inferred from the rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) on Laeso island

Rove beetles (Staphylinidae) are used to explore the forces that shaped the terrestrial fauna on Laeso, a young ca. 3000 year old Danish oceanic island located in the Kattegat strait between mainland Denmark and Sweden. We compile a detailed list of species of rove beetles for Laeso (328 species) and the surrounding Danish and Swedish regions (altogether 1075 species), which includes a standardized inventory of their body sizes, and the habitat and microhabitat preference of each species. The composition of the fauna on Laeso and adjacent mainland regions points to North-Eastern Jutland as the main source of the rove beetles on Laeso. Although large beetles are more active and likely to disperse than small beetles, there is no bias towards large species on the island indicating that the sea separating Laeso from the mainland has not been a barrier for rove beetle dispersal. The statistical analysis of the habitat and microhabitat preferences of the species of the entire system studied has shown that Laeso, compared to the mainland areas, is distinctly more dominated by ecological generalists, especially by species adapted to ephemeral, temporary humid microhabitats. Presumably, the mosaic of mostly dry open habitats available on Laeso filters for species, that are able to populate these suboptimal habitats via patches of humid but ephemeral microhabitats. A comprehensive eco-faunistic dataset for the Staphylinidae compiled for this study is the first modern account of the rove beetle fauna on the Danish island of Laeso.

Rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) of a large pristine peat bog in Belarus Lake District

Species composition and diversity of the rove beetles were studied in main habitats of a large pristine peat bog in Belarus Lake District (North-Western Belarus). Very specific staphylinid assemblages were found. They were characterized by not high species richness and diversity. In these uneven assemblages, a very small number of species: Drusilla canaliculata (Fabricius, 1787), Philonthus cognatus Stephens, 1832, Staphylinus erythropterus Linnaeus, 1758, Ischnosoma splendidus (Gravenhorst, 1806) dominated, while the majority of recorded species were rare. Unlike other inhabitants of the moss layer among the highly abundant species of rove beetles, peat bog specialists were not found. The highest diversity and evenness had the rove beetles assemblages in open spaces. On the other hand, the differences in these assemblages were not high.

Effect of intercropping narrow-leafed lupin with spring triticale on the abundance and diversity of rove beetles

Description of the subject. Intercropping is a kind of polyculture, growing two or more crops together. This practice should improve pest management mainly by increasing predator diversity. It was hypothesized that the intercropping of narrow-leafed lupin with spring triticale would increase the number and diversity of rove beetles compared to monocultures of the aforementioned crops. Objectives. The aim of the research was to determine the effect of intercropping of narrow-leafed lupin with spring triticale on rove beetle abundance and diversity. Method. Over a three-year period, rove beetles were trapped with the use of pitfall traps, and adults were identified to species. The experiment was carried out on a narrow-leafed lupin and spring triticale crop sown as monocultures, and on two mixtures with different proportions of lupin seeds. Results. In total, in all treatments 100 rove beetle species were found, classified into three trophic groups. The most numerous forms were predatory zoophages, which were followed by parasites and saprophages. Staphylinidae abundance and ecological significance decreased with increasing degree of habitat diversity in comparison to crops grown in the pure stand. The same response to intercropping was observed in the case of zoophages. Conclusions. Contrary to what was hypothesized, the abundance and diversity of rove beetle decreased when narrow-leafed lupin and spring triticale were grown together compared to their monoculture. Presumably, the higher abundance of rove beetle in lupin and spring triticale grown in the pure stand is mostly the result of better food supply in monocultures during the whole season.