GROUND BEETLES (COLEOPTERA, CARABIDAE) OF ANTHROPOGENICTRANSFORMATED PEAT BOGS IN BELORUSSKOYE POOZERYE(THE BELARUSIAN LAKE DISTRICT)

Abstract

The article presents data on the species composition and habitat distribution of beetles of the Carabidae family
in peat bogs subject to anthropogenic disturbance. The work is based on the material collected in the period from 2017
to 2022 in Belorusskoye Poozerye. An annotated list of species is presented, in which the data we obtained on the occurrence
and habitat distribution of species are indicated.
As a result of the research, 63 species (28 genera) of ground beetles were noted. The genus Carabus in the
study region includes 7 species, out of which Bembidion — 4. The remaining 24 genera of this family are represented
by 1—3 species. The number of ground beetle species in disturbed bogs does not change highly. However, the species
composition of ground beetles undergoes changes. Only 23 species (37.1 %) presented in these studies were found in
peat bogs not subject to economic activity. A decrease in the number of specialized inhabitants of peat bogs was revealed:
for example, Agonum ericeti (Panzer, 1809) and Pterostichus rhaeticus Heer, 1838, which are found singly
and only in shrub-sphagnum phytocenoses in preserved intact areas. The exception is Pterostichus diligens (Sturm, 1824), which is characterized by a high occurrence. As a result of the formation of habitats without sphagnum cover,
which are not typical for raised bogs, with the predominance of Calluna vulgaris, Betula pubescens, as well as areas of
open peat, the faunal complex is replenished with inhabitants of open biotopes and forests. The occurrence of the forest
species Epaphius secalis (Paykull, 1790), Pterostichus oblongopunctatus (Fabricius, 1787), Calathus micropterus
(Duftschmid, 1812) and Oxypselaphus obscurus (Herbst, 1784) is increasing. Species confined to fields, meadows,
and shores of water bodies also appear, such as Pterostichus melanarius (Illiger, 1798), P. strenuus (Panzer, 1797),
P. vernalis (Panzer, 1796), Agonum sexpunctatum (Linnaeus, 1758), Omophron limbatum (Fabricius, 1777) and
Oodes helopioides Fabricius, 1792.
Key words: Coleoptera; Carabidae; species composition; upland swamp; anthropogenic transformation; Belorusskoye
Poozerye (the Belarusian Lake District).
Ref.: 14 titles.