Flight activity of rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in the agricultural landscape in the Leningrad Region

Abstract

the challenges posed by the landscape changes which originate in human agricultural activity. Second, it enables them to choose the habitats with the most favorable ecological conditions. Finally, it helps them to play an important role as predators of pests of agricultural plants. Window traps are used to measure the rove beetles’ flight activity. Window traps were first used in agricultural landscapes in Germany [Markgraf, Basedow, 2003], which helped reveal more than 80 species of these beetles. The same method was used for studying biotopic distribution of rove beetles of Tachyporinae subfamily in the Moscow Region [Semenov, 2012]. However, this method has never been used in the agricultural landscapes of the Leningrad Region. This paper aims to fill this gap by researching those species of rove beetles which have the highest levels of flight activity on different agricultural fields and their margins in the Leningrad Region.