Zoodiversity

A New Species of the Genus Chilocyrtus (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Orthocentrinae) from South Africa

2024-04-19T07:39:18+00:00

Chilocyrtus propodealis sp. n. from South Africa is described and illustrated. The newly described species has the carination of the propodeum atypical for representatives of the genus giving the reasons to reconsider the generic borders between this genus and genera allied.

Temperature Dependence of the Breeding Parametres of the Collared Flycatcher (Passeriformes, Muscicapidae) in the National Park Homilshanski Lisy (NE Ukraine)

2024-04-19T07:39:16+00:00

The breeding phenology of Collared Flycatchers was studied over an 11-year period (2006‒2011 and 2013‒2017) in oak-maple-lime stands located in the Northern-East of Ukraine (in the National Park Homilshanski Lisy). In most years, egg laying began in the first and second ten-day periods of May. The earliest recorded first-egg date (368 broods) was 23 April, while the latest was 5 May. These dates varied from year to year. The relationship between the first-egg date and the date of daily average temperature transition through + 10 °C suggests that birds bred earlier due to warmer local temperatures. The clutch size was negatively correlated with the date of the average air temperature transition through + 5 °C. The earliest hatching date was 15 May, and the latest was 25 May. Fledging typically began in the first half of June. The breeding season’s length ranged from 30 to 42 days, and the breeding cycle was positively correlated with the transition of the average daily temperature through +5 °C. To determine which factors explained the first egg date and clutch size, Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) were conducted. GLMs suggest a correlation between the first-egg date and the sum of effective temperatures (∑T150), arrival date temperature, migration route temperature, and average temperature of the third decade of April. Clutch size is determined by the sum of effective temperature accumulation (∑130) and migration route temperature. Reproductive success is negatively correlated with the average of 30 daily temperatures until the median date.

Description of the Third Instar Larvae of Terellia tussilaginis and T. gynaecochroma (Diptera, Tephritidae)

2024-04-19T07:39:19+00:00

The third instar larvae of Terellia (Cerajocera) tussilaginis (Fabricius, 1775) and T. (C.) gynaecochroma (Hering, 1937) are described and figured for the first time based on material from Kryvyi Rih vicinities (Ukraine).

Redescriptions of the Species of Amblyseiella and Chelaseius, with Resurrection of the Genus Status for Amblyseiulus

2024-04-19T07:39:10+00:00

The article continues the studies of the fauna of phytoseiid mites in Ukraine, the results of which have been partly published by the author recently and contains a review of the genera Amblyseiulus, Amblyseiella, and Chelaseius. A detailed morpho-functional rationale for the resurrection of the genus Amblyseiulus Muma, 1961 as a part of the subtribe Proprioseiopsina Chant & McMurtry is provided. In this study, seven species of this genus were identified, one of which, Amblyseiulus jugortus (Athias-Henriot, 1966), is recorded for the first time in the fauna of Ukraine. The genus Amblyseiella Muma, 1955 is represented in Ukraine by the species A. antonii Kolodochka & Omeri, 2010, the second of two species of this genus known in the world. The species Chelaseius (Pontoseius) valliculosus Kolodochka, 1987 is also the only representative of this genus and subgenus in Ukraine. Based on the results of the study, comprehensive illustrated redescriptions of each of the taxa are given, morphological and morphometric data, information on the distribution of genera and species in the world and Ukraine, mite habitats, depositories of type specimens, occurrence, abundance and keys for identification of genera and species.

Spatial Segregation of Diploid and Polyploids Spined Loaches (Сobitis elongatoides–taenia–tanaitica) in the River Systems of Western and Central Ukraine

2024-04-19T07:39:12+00:00

The investigation examines the structure of diploid and polyploid populations within the spined loach group (Сobitis elongatoides–taenia–tanaitica) in the water systems of Western and Central Ukraine, including the Danube River, Dniester River, Southern Bug River, Vistula River, Middle and Upper Dnipro River basins. The study reveals a bipolarity in settlement structure, with a sharp prevalence of either diploids or polyploids, and no discernible geographical trends in spatial distribution. Clonal hybrid polyploids, which make up 70 % of the individuals studied in the region, are most common in settlements along the main river channels, as well as in the middle and lower reaches of first and second-order tributaries. Populations where diploid specimens of the parent species are predominant are located in accessory systems, tributaries of the third and higher orders, upper reaches of first and second-order tributaries, and lakes. This spatial segregation arises from historical circumstances rather than ecological preferences, primarily due to the distance from water corridors through which polyploids invaded in the 1960s‒1970s. The displacement of diploid individuals by clonal hybrid polyploids is a universal phenomenon. This is due to the advantages of parthenogenetic reproduction and higher survival rates of polyploids in modern environmental situations.