Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 91. (Budapest 1999)

Skuhravá, M. ; Skuhravý, V.: Gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyidae) of Hungary

of Central Europe, Lake Balaton, 106 m a. s. 1., of 591 square kilometres, extends in the western part, and the Fertő (Neusiedler See, 115 m a. s. L, 320 square kilometres, in the westernmost part at the boundary with Austria. The country has a typical continental climate with hot dry summer, with the highest known temperature of 41.3 °C and with a relatively cold winter. Mean year precipitations are 500-600 mm. About 15% of the territory is covered by mixed forests of Pinus, Fagus sylvatica, several species of Quercus and also by a foreign floral clement, Robinia pseudoacacia. From biogeographical point of view, according to UDVARDY (1975), the territory of Hungary belongs to the Middle European Forest Province and to the Pannonian Province including the plains along the river Danube in the Carpathian Basin covered with secondary steppe floral associations. No regular research investigating the occurrence of gall-inducing insects and mites was made on the territory of Hungary, rather specific areas were selected and investigated such as the surroundings of lakes, Balaton and Neusiedler, various mountains and arboretums. In August 1988 we investigated the gall midge fauna at 19 localities in the northern part of Hungary, in the Börzsöny Mts, in the Pilis Biosphere Reserve and its surroundings (Fig. 1) and in 1997 at three localities in the Mátra Mts during the course of IUFRO Conference at Mátrafüred. MATERIAL AND METHODS We summarized all data about the occurrence of gall midges which were obtained by about twenty researchers who collected galls in various parts of Hungary during period of 1890-1975. The results are compared to those carried out in the Czech Republic, particularly the qualitative and quantitative occurrence of gall midge fauna in the area of northern Hungary in 1988 and 1997. The dislocation of localities is given in the Fig. 1. Method of collecting is described in the paper of SKUHRAVÁ ( 1994). We evaluated all occurrence data of gall midge species occurring in the territory of Hungary from the zoogeographical point of view using the method of zoogeographical analysis according to SKUHRAVÁ (1987). The frequency of gall midge species in Hungary has been evaluated according to the number of papers which dealt with the occurrence of particular gall midge species (so called number of citations). In such considerations one citation includes either one or several localities where such species was found by a particular author. Data gathered by Hungarian researchers in a relatively long period of time, of almost one hundred years, were analysed, compared with those about the occurrence of gall midges ascertained in the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and in Hungary in 1988 and 1997. Such comparison made it possible to deduce the long-term changes in the population dynamics of several gall midge species in Hungary. The economic importance of gall midges was evaluated based on citations given mainly in the journal Növényvédelem which is devoted to problems of plant protection and in the publication Abstracts and bibliography of Hungarian plant protection (SZEMESSY 1976-1990).