Species Composition of Leaf Beetle Assemblages in Deciduous Tree Canopies in Hungary (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)1 (original) (raw)

The species richness and species composition of Coleoptera assemblages were investigated in deciduous tree canopies in Hungary. Apple and pear orchards were investigated in Nagykovácsi, Kecskemét and Sárospatak in 1990-94, and limes and maples in Keszthely in 1999-2002. This study presents in detail the findings on leaf beetles. Earlier investigations in Hungary revealed surprisingly high diversity of Coleoptera assemblages in the canopy of apple and pear orchards. Altogether 324 species, almost 3 per cent of Hungary's beetle fauna, were represented: 253 in apple and 188 in pear orchards. The majority of the species belonged to the Curculionidae, Chrysomelidae and Coccinelidae families. The proportion of leaf beetles ranged between 15 and 20 %. The commonest leaf-beetle species in the canopy of the commercial orchards investigated were Phyllotreta vittula, Phyllotreta atra, Phyllotreta nigripes, Oulema melanopus, and Aphthona euphorbiae. In the abandoned orchards, the commonest were Luperus xanthopoda, Smaragdina salicina and Orsodacne lineola. Examination of the fauna of parks, avenues and other planted urban plant stocks has only begun to occupy researchers in the last decade. Analysis of the full Arthropoda assemblages of these plant stocks has still not been undertaken. The proportion of leaf-beetle species in the material gathered on maples and limes in Keszthely ranged between 17.0 and 21.3 per cent. Apart form leaf beetles, the bulk of the specimen material collected consisted of species of the Coccinellidae, Staphylinidae and Curculionidae families. The commonest leaf-beetle specimens collected in the lime canopy were Aphthona euphorbiae, Chaetocnema tibialis, Longitarsus lycopi, Longitarsus pellucidus, Longitarsus pratensis and Longitarsus succineus. The commonest on maple were Aphthona euphorbiae, Chaetocnema concinna, Chaetocnema tibialis, Longitarsus lycopi, Longitarsus pellucidus, Longitarsus succineus, Phyllotreta cruciferae and Phyllotreta vittula. It was concluded that leaf beetles contribute a high proportion of the biodiversity of the deciduous tree canopy, sometimes occurring with high species richness and abundance. However, the reasons for this occurrence and their potential role are poorly understood.