Pseudomaquises in SW Bulgaria as a habitat for the ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Abstract

A lack of sufficient data about ground beetles in maquis and maquis-like habitats in the whole Mediterranean region prompted this study. It brings new data to the knowledge of Carabidae species from Balkan pseudomaquis habitats in Bulgaria and reveals some patterns of species composition from zoogeographic and ecological points of view. Fieldwork was carried out in the period 5 April 2002 – 11 January 2004. A total of 305 specimens from 52 species were found, including two Balkan endemics and one Tertiary relict. These species belong to 23 genera and 12 tribes. Dromius quadrimaculatus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Harpalus fuscicornis Ménétriés, 1832 are new for the Bulgarian Struma Valley. Another 13 species are new for the Pirin Mountains. The richest tribe was Harpalini (21 species), followed by Carabini (6 species), Amarini and Sphodrini (5 species each). The most species-rich genus was Harpalus (13 species). Zoogeographical analysis showed that Euroasiatic and Mediterranean complexes were most prevalent. Xerothermic conditions in the habitats studied were also confirmed by the prevalence of the mesoxerophilous carabids. These habitats occur only locally in Bulgaria and support specific carabid assemblages. Knowledge about their diversity could be a keystone for the conservation of all target species living in these limited areas and encompassed by the adjacent Natura 2000 zones.

Mediterranean vineyards and olive groves in Croatia harbour some rare and endemic invertebrates

“…This herbivorous carabid species is endemic to the Balkan Peninsula ( Vigna Taglianti 2013 , Teofilova 2020 ). In Croatia, it has been sampled at Neretva Delta ( Kurbalija 2012 ) and several localities in Dalmatia (Hvar, Split, Zadar) ( Anichtchenko and Guéorguiev 2009 ).…”

Trechus (s. str.) “subnotatus” species group (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in Bulgaria

“…Until the present study, the following four taxa of the Trechus "subnotatus" species group were recorded from Bulgaria: T. subnotatus subnotatus Dejean, 1831(Netolitzky 1912Jeannel 1921Jeannel , 1927Beron 1972;Pawlowski 1973;Hieke & Wrase 1988;Hurka 1990;Guéorguiev & Guéorguiev 1995;Guéorguiev 1999;Guéorguiev 2004;Moravec & Lompe 2003;Belousov 2017;Teofilova 2017;Teofilova 2020;Teofilova & Kodzhabashev 2020a;Donabauer 2020); T. irenis Csiki, 1912 (Yoakimov 1904 as T. palpalis;Rambousek 1912 as T. subnotatus var. cardioderus;Drenovski 1942 as T. subnotatus cardioderus; Hieke & Wrase 1988 as T. cardioderus; Guéorguiev & Guéorguiev 1995 as T. cardioderus balcanicus; Moravec & Lompe 2003;Guéorguiev 2004;Guéorguiev & Lobo 2006;Kostova 2009;Langourov et al 2014;Kostova & Guéorguiev 2016;Teofilova 2016;Belousov 2017;Teofilova & Kodzhabashev 2020b); T. cardioderus golesnicensis Apfelbeck, 1918 (Mařan 1933(Mařan , 1939Nonveiller et al 1994;Guéorguiev & Guéorguiev 1995;Belousov 2017); and T. asiaticus Jeannel, 1927…”