Vol 96, No 1 (2016)

This is the first report on the effects of temperature (from 17 to 30°C), photoperiod (from 10 to 16 h of light), and diet (the wheat aphid Schizaphis graminum and the green peach aphid Myzus persicae) on preimaginal developmental rates, adult body mass, preoviposition period, and female fecundity of the predatory lady beetle Harmonia quadripunctata (Pontoppidan) under the laboratory conditions. A constant temperature of 30°C was lethal to the embryos. Judging from the data obtained at 17, 20, and 25°C, the lower temperature threshold for total egg-to-adult development equaled 12.0°C and the respective sum of effective temperatures was 274 degree-days. Preimaginal development was somewhat faster under short-day conditions, the threshold for this quantitative photoperiodic response being approximately 14 h at the rearing temperatures of 20 and 25°C. At a temperature of 25°C, the mean body mass of newly emerged adults was greater for those individuals that during the larval stage had been fed on the green peach aphid (16.4 mg in males and 18.4 mg in females) than in those fed with the wheat aphid (13.8 mg in males and 15.3 mg in females). The preoviposition period (measured from adult emergence to the first egg laid) also depended on temperature and had a lower threshold of 13.4°C and a sum of effective temperatures of 152 degree-days. Maximum fecundity was observed at 25°C and 16-h day length; under these conditions, the oviposition period lasted over 100 d, and the average lifetime fecundity was about 800 eggs per female. Under short-day conditions, females of H. quadripunctata entered reproductive diapause. The photoperiodic threshold for this qualitative response at the temperatures of 20 and 25°C was about 14 h when fed on the peach aphid and 15 h when fed on the wheat aphid. Relatively small body size, low fecundity, and a strong photoperiodic response that hinders rapid adaptation to novel climates probably explain the fact that H. quadripunctata, in contrast to H. axyridis, has not become an aggressive invader.

A phylogenetic study of representatives of the family Coleophoridae was conducted using a comprehensive approach, including methods of morphological and molecular genetic analyses. The existent data on the family system were compared with the results of phylogenetic analysis of the COI mitochondrial gene sequences. Four of the five studied subfamilies (Coleophorinae, Ischnophaninae, Augasminae, and Tolleophorinae) corresponded to their location on the phylogram; representatives of Metriotinae were part of Coleophorinae. According to the aggregate data from molecular phylogeny and morphology, the most numerous subfamily of casebearers, Coleophorinae, is polyphyletic within its current boundaries. The results of our analysis of COI molecular divergence does not refute the monophyly of the tribes Casignetellini, Carpochenini, Klinzigedini, Goniodomini, Casasini, and Atractulini from the subfamily Coleophorinae. The allocation of the tribes Aporipturini and Sistrophoecini within the subfamily does not correspond to the molecular data. Monophyly of the genera Ecebalia, Perygra, and Casignetella was confirmed. These genera are well isolated, which reflects the evolutionary significance of the morphological characters chosen for their taxonomic division. The boundaries of the cluster containing these genera correspond to those of the tribe Casignetellini, justifying the allocation of this tribe within the subfamily. The existence of monophyletic tribes Goniodomini (genus Goniodoma) and Carpochenini (genera Ionescumia, Carpochena, and Falkmisa) was also supported. The exceptions were the genera Kasyfia, Tollsia, and Agapalsa, whose monophyly was not confirmed by our results. The distribution of the sequences of species of these genera indicated a paraphyletic origin of Kasyfia and Tollsia and a polyphyletic origin of Agapalsa.

The paper continues the series of publications (Medvedev, 2015, 2016) devoted to the analysis of the structural features of fleas. In this part, the structural features of the thoracic setation are analyzed for the first time. Six characters with 53 states were distinguished in the chaetome of the pronotum, mesothorax, and metathorax. The analysis reveals some cases of the formation of externally similar states due to reduction or, by contrast, strengthening of the chaetome in some genera belonging to different superfamilies, in relation to the specific traits of parasitism. In spite of high variation in the number and arrangement of thoracic setae, some character states can be used as markers of flea taxa of the family and superfamily rank.

Larvae of the weevils Apion frumentarium Linnaeus, Pseudaplemonus aeneicollis Gerstaecker of the tribe Apionini, and Stenopterapion margelanicum Wagner of the tribe Oxystomatini are described for the first time. The diagnoses of larvae of these three species are presented, and their characteristics are compared with those of the larvae of Protapion apricans Herbst., Pirapion immune Kirby, and Ischnopterapion loti Gyllenhal. The larvae differ in the structure and chaetotaxy of the head, labium, pedal lobes, and abdominal segments IX and X.

Biology and ecology of the sawfly Pristiphora subarctica Forssl., a species new to Siberia, were studied. This species is capable of outbreaks in plantations of spruce Picea obovata Ledeb. The data on specific features of nutrition, fecundity of adults, causes of death of wintering pronymphs, and the location of the pest in litter, tree crowns, and stand are presented.

The taxocene of lichen-feeding darkling beetles from the tribe Helopini is studied in the steppes of the south of Rostov Province. The species of lichens grazed on by the representatives of this tribe are identified for the first time and dependence of circadian activity and spatial distribution of adults on temperature and air humidity is shown. Global warming and human activities may have caused degradation of steppe lichen communities that formed the dietary base for the lichen-feeding darkling beetles in natural ecosystems. As a result, 3 out of 4 beetle species completely left steppe biotopes for tree shelterbelts. This caused a change in the trophic relationships (transition from epigeic to epiphytic lichens) and in the spatial distribution of darkling beetles, promoted the establishment of competitive interactions, and increased the duration of circadian and seasonal activity due to the lengthening of the periods with optimum temperature and air humidity for each species.

A description of a female of Dolichopus uniseta Stackelberg, 1929 is given. A key to the species of the III group of the genus Dolichopus Latr., 1796 (the species with mostly yellow femora and yellow postocular setae), based on the female characters, was compiled for the Palaearctic Region. The key includes 37 species for the first time.

A new bristletail species, Allopsontus (Allopsontinus) kabaki sp. n., is described from northwestern China. This species is most similar to A. caucasicus Kaplin, 1990 known from the Caucasus (Armenia).

Otiorhynchus smreczynskii Cmoluch was first found in St. Petersburg in 2011 and in 2015 was common all over the city on lilac (Syringa spp.).