Factors responsible for distribution of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in Agricultural Lands

摘要

Investigations were conducted in Moscow oblast in 1996. Pitfall traps were used for collecting ground beetle adults in the winter wheat crop field (49 traps) and its grassy margins (32 traps). The effect of some abiotic and biotic factors on the distribution of 9 mass species of beetles was studied. The open space species (Harpalus rufipes. H. affinis, and Poecilus cupreus) were found to prefer field and margin microstations with drier soil, while primary forest species (Carabus nemoralis, Epaphius secalis, Calathus melanocephalus) were more abundant in locations with wet soils. The field species. H. rufipes, and the grass one, H. affinis, prefered microstations with the soils of neutral reaction, whereas primary forest species (C. nemoralis, E. secalis) concentrated in places with acid soils. A positive correlation with the humus content in field soils was found in C. nemoralis and Pterostichus melanarius. The abundance of weeds in some field sites attracted mainly myxophytophagous species (H. rufipes, H. affinis) feeding on them. Forest beetle species concentrated significantly in the locations with greater plant (wheat and weeds) biomass compared with the sites where vegtation is scanty and long plants of wheat attract the open space species. Positive and negative correlations found between mass species of carabids and enviromental factors reflect their relations with the enviroment, but not competitive relations between beetles.