ground beetle
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Life ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Sergey Luzyanin ◽  
Anatoly Saveliev ◽  
Nadezhda Ukhova ◽  
Iraida Vorobyova ◽  
Igor Solodovnikov ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to test the steepness of body size variation in males and females in the widespread ground beetle Pterostichus melanarius in geographical gradients. Beetles were sampled in 15 regions of Europe and Asia, and sampling territories differed 17° in latitude and 121° in longitude. We measured six linear traits in every captured beetle and formed a data set that included 2154 individuals. Body size variation in all traits in general was sawtooth, both in latitude and in longitude gradients. Regression analysis showed slight trends: in the latitude gradient, elytra parameters increased, pronotum length did not change but the width increased, and head parameters decreased. In the longitude gradient, the changes were as follows: elytra length increased, but its width did not change; pronotum length did not change, but its width increased; the head parameters decreased. Thus, we observed the elytra length increase and the head parameters decrease northwards and eastwards. We compared female and male regression curves (trait size on latitude/longitude): p-levels were significant only in four cases out of 12. Thus, we conclude that, in general, there is no evidence for the steepness in trait variation in males compared with females.


2022 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Marina Kirichenko-Babko ◽  
Evgeny E. Perkovsky ◽  
Dmitry V. Vasilenko

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Michael J. Raupach ◽  
Fabian Deister ◽  
Adrián Villastrigo ◽  
Michael Balke

Abstract The Carabidae is by far the largest family of the Adephaga, with more than 40,000 described species. Whereas their phylogeny has been extensively studied, convergences and reversals in morphological traits prevent a robust phylogenetic concept so far. In this study, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes of Notiophilus quadripunctatus (Nebriinae) and Omophrom limbatum (Omophroninae) using high-throughput sequencing. Both mitogenomes consisted of a single circular DNA molecule that encoded the typical 13 protein-coding genes, two subunits of mitochondrial RNAs, 22 tRNAs and a putative control region. Our phylogenetic study placed Omophrom limbatum as sister taxon to all other analyzed ground beetle species whereas Notiophilus quadripunctatus was identified as sister to Nebria brevicollis as part of the Nebriinae. The analyses also support the monophyly of the Cicindelidae but place Trachypachus holmbergi (Trachypachidae) within the Carabidae. Nevertheless, almost all carabid subfamilies with more than one analyzed species were identified as monophyla.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Xueqin Liu ◽  
Xinpu Wang ◽  
Ming Bai ◽  
Josh Jenkins Shaw

Ground-dwelling beetles are important functional components in nutrient-poor grasslands of middle temperate steppe ecosystems in China. Here, we assessed the changes in ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities in the grasslands of northwestern China over 12 years to improve the management and conservation of beetles all over the world. The Generalized Additive Model (GAM) was applied to estimate the changes in carabid beetle communities in two regions: a desert steppe (Yanchi region), and a typical steppe and meadow steppe (Guyuan region). During the 12-year investigation, a total of 34 species were captured. We found that species abundance and richness per survey declined by 0.2 and 11.2%, respectively. Precipitation was the main factor affecting the distribution of carabid beetles. A distinct decline in carabid beetle species in the Yanchi region indicated that they may be threatened by less precipitation and loss of habitat, which could be due to climate change. Overall, species richness was stable in the Guyuan region. It is necessary to estimate and monitor the changes in carabid beetle communities in a temperate steppe of northern China and to protect them. Extensive desertification seriously threatens the distribution of carabid beetles. Future research should develop methods to protect carabid beetle communities in temperate steppes in China.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1135
Author(s):  
Lin Jiang ◽  
Runa Zhao ◽  
Hui Tian ◽  
Xuesan Wu ◽  
Feng Guo ◽  
...  

Terrestrial slugs are a prominent agricultural pest worldwide. To mitigate the negative effects of chemical pest control, biological control involves the use of natural enemies to reduce the impact of target pests. Numerous insects are natural predators of slugs. This study evaluated potential of the predatory species, Carabus elysii Thomson (Coleoptera: Carabidae) to biologically control the terrestrial slug, Agriolimax agrestis. Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the functional response, searching efficiency, and interference effect of female and male C. elysii adults regarding adult, immature, and juvenile A. agrestis individuals. The results show that both female and male ground beetle adults are functionally capable of preying on different sizes of terrestrial slugs. C. elysii exhibited Holling type II functional responses when preying on A. agrestis. The maximum daily prey consumption was 35.5 juveniles, 25.1 immatures, and 17.1 adults for adult females and 26.9 juveniles, 20.3 immatures, and 11.6 adults for adult males. The searching efficiency of female C. elysii adults regarding A. agrestis was always higher than that of male adults for identical ages and densities of A. agrestis. Moreover, the predation of C. elysii on slugs was affected by predator density. The disturbance coefficient of male C. elysii were the highest on adult A. agrestis. The results of this study suggest that female C. elysii exhibit a high potential for the biological control of A. agrestis.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janey R. Lienau ◽  
Robert W. Buchkowski ◽  
Meghan G. Midgley

Abstract Purpose: Soil insects mediate plant-soil interactions by fragmenting and decomposing litter that forms the base of soil food webs and through predator-prey interactions. Plant communities, in turn, shape soil insect communities via the quality, availability, and diversity of their litters. However, these drivers have rarely been examined in concert even though describing soil insect community patterns is critical for mitigating the effects of global environmental changes. Methods: Here, we evaluated the effects of tree diversity, density, and functional groups on ground beetle (Carabidae) diversity, density, and community composition in four eastern temperate forest sites in the National Ecological Observatory Network. Results Though we expected that higher tree diversity and density would, respectively, lead to higher diversity and density ground beetle communities, we found little evidence to support this hypothesis. Instead, evergreen tree abundance strongly shaped ground beetle diversity, density, and community composition. Specifically, evergreen plots as defined by National Land Cover Database hosted lower density ground beetle communities than deciduous plots. Similarly, ground beetle Shannon diversity and density decreased as the relative abundance of evergreen tree species increased. Conclusions: Although further study is needed to explicitly link litter quality with soil insect communities, the resource environments created by trees with varying leaf habits appear to be a dominant force driving ground beetle community diversity and density patterns.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12455
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Yarwood ◽  
Claudia Drees ◽  
Jeremy E. Niven ◽  
Wiebke Schuett

Background Individuals within the same species often differ in their metabolic rates, which may covary with behavioural traits (such as exploration), that are consistent across time and/or contexts, and morphological traits. Yet, despite the frequent occurrence of sexual dimorphisms in morphology and behaviour, few studies have assessed whether and how sexes differ in metabolic trait covariances. Methods We investigated sex-specific relationships among resting or active metabolic rate (RMR and AMR, respectively) with exploratory behaviour, measured independently of metabolic rate in a novel environment, body size and body mass, in Carabus hortensis ground beetles. Results RMR, AMR and exploratory behaviour were repeatable among individuals across time, except for male RMR which was unrepeatable. Female RMR neither correlated with exploratory behaviour nor body size/body mass. In contrast, AMR was correlated with both body size and exploratory behaviour. Males with larger body sizes had higher AMR, whereas females with larger body sizes had lower AMR. Both male and female AMR were significantly related to exploratory behaviour, though the relationships between AMR and exploration were body mass-dependent in males and temperature-dependent in females. Discussion Differences between sexes exist in the covariances between metabolic rate, body size and exploratory behaviour. This suggests that selection acts differently on males and females to produce these trait covariances with potentially important consequences for individual fitness.


2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 79-86
Author(s):  
Teodora Teofilova

Bulgarian ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) fauna is relatively well studied but there are still many species and regions in the country which are not well researched. The present study aims at complementing the data about the distribution of the carabids from the subfamilies Nebriinae, Carabinae and Cicindelinae, which contain some of the most attractive Palaearctic carabids. Currently, 13 species of Nebriini, ten species of Notiophilini, one species of Cychrini, 28 species of Carabini and 15 species of Cicindelini are known to occur in Bulgaria. The paper gives new information and new records on 37 carabid species and 25 zoogeographical regions in Bulgaria. Beetles are collected in the period from 1976 to 2021 by different collectors and sampling methods. Six species are recorded for the first time in different regions. Four species are reported for the second time in the regions where they have currently been collected. Fourteen species haven’t been reported for more than 20 years from the Middle and Western Stara Planina Mts, Western Bulgaria Region, Kraishte Region, Boboshevo-Simitli Valley, Vitosha Mts, Plana Mt, Lyulin Mts, Rila Mts and Pirin Mts.


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