Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 36/1. (2016)
Zoology
THE DIVERSITY OF LEAF-BEETLES (INSECTA, COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE) IN THE NATURE RESERVE “PÁDUREA DOMNEASCÄ” Livia CALESTRU Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of Moldova Str. Academiei 1, MD—2028 Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, liviacalestru@gmail.com Abstract: The paper includes the study of 17 Chrysomelidae species from diverse habitats of the Nature Reserve “Pädurea Domneascä”. The material was collected in 2010—2015 by methods specific for entomological research, including: mowing with entomological net, shaking insects on cloth and manual collection. Among Chrysomelidae species the Euro-Siberian (7) and Transpalearctical (6) species are prevailing, followed by two European species, and by one Mediterranean and one Palearctic species. List of species, trophic spectrum, ecology and distribution are included. Keywords: Chrysomelidae, leaf — beetles species, ecology, distribution. Introduction The Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) is one of the largest families of the order Coleoptera. According to some bibliographical sources, there are known 35 to 50 thousand species in the world. The Chrysomelidae are exclusively phytophagous. The insect biodiversity in forest ecosystems is determined both by climatic and natural factors and allows to highlight the degree of stability of the ecosystem. In Moldova one can not speak of intact forest areas: even areas protected by the state suffer some changes due to anthropogenic interventions that directly affect the normal development of insects. The territory occupied by forest vegetation in the Nature Reserve, “Pädurea Domneascä” (Royal Forest) belongs to the Moldovan Northwest Plateau and is located in the middle course of the river Prut and its tributary Kamenka from the village Braniste at the North to Pruteni at the South. To the West it is bounded by the river Prut and to the East by the reef area of Butesti - Cobani, and at the South by the terraces of the river Prut near the Eastern part of the villages Vii§oara and Pruteni. The total area of the Reserve is 5736 ha, of which 4952 hectares are covered with forests. Materials and methods The materials consist of collections and observations conducted in the “Pädurea Domneascä” Reserve in 2010—2015. The material was collected by methods specific for entomological research, including: mowing with entomological net, shaking insects on cloth, and manual collection. Identification of Chrysomelidae species was made according to fundamental works [2]. The processed material is presented in table 1, and arranged in systematic order according to Bouchard et. al. (2011) [1]. M A R I S I A, XXXVI, p. 83-86
