Ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) from a winter excursion to Georgia, Southern Caucasus ecoregion

By

Trautner, Jürgen
Fritze, Michael-Andreas
Schröter, Asmus
Chaladze, Giorgi

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023-7-11

Original Publication

Caucasiana : journal on the biodiversity of the Caucasus and the adjacent regions

Volume

2

Pages

113--125

Subjects

biodiversity inventory , Faunistics , new records , survey methods

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

[Sofia, Bulgaria] Pensoft 2022-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/caucasiana.2.e102280

 

Abstract

<br> Abstract<br> <br> In winter 2019, an excursion to the central and eastern parts of Georgia was conducted, focusing on arboreal species and other carabids overwintering under bark or at the base of trunks. Other habitat structures were also investigated. The work was done as part of ongoing studies in preparation of a new checklist of Georgian Ground Beetles and to contribute to the faunistic as well as ecological knowledge base for the main natural areas of this country. Forty-three taxa were recorded. The arboreal species Dromius agilis (Fabricius, 1787), the plant-dwelling species Demetrias imperialis (Germar, 1823), and Paradromius suturalis (Motschulsky, 1844), and another six species (Microlestes corticalis (Dufour, 1820), M. fissuralis (Reitter, 1901), M. fulvibasis (Reitter, 1901), M. luctuosus Holdhaus in Apfelbeck, 1904, Pterostichus leonisi Apfelbeck, 1904, and P. strenuus (Panzer, 1796)) are new for Georgia. In some sites, the number of recorded specimens under bark, in litter, or in the upper soil was very low, probably due to specific climatic conditions (e.g., very low humidity). It is supposed that in these areas, most of the individuals reside deeper in the soil during periods of low activity or hibernation. The number of Dromius individuals overwintering under bark near the stem base increased with altitude. The relevance of special survey methods in the winter for ground beetles is emphasized.