Insect microbiota may play a wide range of roles in host physiology. Among others, microbiota can be involved in diet processing or protection against pathogens, both of which are potentially important in bryophagous (moss-feeding) insects, which survive on extreme diets and live in the stable environment of moss clumps suitable for the growth of fungi and bacteria. We treated Cytilus sericeus (Forster, 1771) (Coleoptera: Byrrhidae) as a model organism with bactericides and fungicides to test the effect of bacterial and fungal removal on egg hatching and larval development. Furthermore, we supplied larvae with adult feces to determine whether feces is a source of beneficial microbiota or pathogens. Bactericides had a positive effect, but fungicides had a negative effect on beetle fitness, both of which manifested during egg hatching. The feces did not play a positive role. Our conclusions indicate the presence of beneficial fungal microbiota associated with eggs but not transmitted through feces. Based on preliminary cultivation and fungicide tests, Fusarium or Penicillium may be important for suppressing pathogens, but their exact role needs to be further studied.

Intrataxonomic differences in terms of angiosperm suitability for herbivorous insects stem from variables such as plant structure, palatability, and chemistry. It has not yet been elucidated whether these differences also occur in terms of the bryophyte’s suitability to bryophages. Hypnum cupressiforme Hedw. is a morphologically variable moss species frequently inhabited or fed by insects. In this investigation, we offered five morphotypes of H. cupressiforme to two bryophagous species of Byrrhidae (Coleoptera) to reveal whether the intrataxonomic variability affects beetles’ preferences. The morphotypes were offered with preserved and removed spatial structures. There were no significant differences in morphotype preferences when spatial structures were preserved, although during the daytime, the beetles moved from the flat morphotype to the usual and turgid morphotypes. The beetles preferred the turgid morphotype when the spatial structures were removed. The results suggest that the spatial structure variations in the H. cupressiforme complex are accompanied by different chemical, physiological, or microscopic morphological profiles that are recognized by the bryophagous insects. Phylogenetic and epigenetic analyses can reveal multiple differences within the H. cupressiforme complex. Their interconnection with information about the preferences of bryophagous insects can help us to elucidate which of these differences are ecologically relevant.

The quarry in Stará Ves near Bílovec is considered a significant geotouric attraction. The dominant feature is the front northern wall representing one of the best outcrops of the fold-thrust tectonics of the Jeseník culm. Until 1983, shale and Moravian offal were mined in the quarry, then the quarry was restored, abandoned, and left to natural succession. Inventory of vertebrates from 2009–2011 revealed 46 specially protected species. Arachnological research from 2013–2015 revealed the occurrence of 69 species of spiders, including seven taxonomically important xerothermophilic species. Botanical research was carried out at the site twenty years ago, systematic entomological research has not been carried yet. We performed an inventory of invertebrates focused primarily on butterflies, using sweeping and netting, supplemented by individual sampling and observation of other species. We also performed a botanical inventory, supplemented by an estimate of tree and bush cover to evaluate host offer and form of habitats present in the quarry. We revealed 144 species of higher plants, of which six belong to the Czech red list, and 121 species of animals, of which 102 species of insects, and 52 species of butterflies. Nineteen species of animals fell into the categories of endangerment according to the Czech red list, legal categories, or are part of some of the European directive annexes. Most of these species depend on the conservation of early succession xerothermic habitats. Their ecology is discussed in relation to possible management.