A new species of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysolina</Emphasis> Motsch. (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae) from the mountains of Tuva and Buryatia

A new leaf-beetle species with two subspecies is described: Chrysolina (Pleurosticha) romani romani sp. et subsp. n. from southeastern Tuva and Ch. romani burjatica subsp. n. from the East Sayan in Buryatia. The habitus of the species is similar to both the representatives of the subgenus Arctolina Kont. and to Chrysolina gebleri L. Medv. from the subgenus Pleurosticha Motsch. The difference between these two closely related genera is discussed and causes to place the new species in the subgenus Pleurosticha, where it can be readily distinguished by the short and wide lentiform aedeagus.     

Findings of the leaf beetles <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysolina tundralis</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysolina roddi</Emphasis> (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae) in the middle part of European Russia

Two species of leaf beetles, Chrysolina tundralis and Ch. roddi, were found in the “Galich’ya Gora” Nature Reserve (the middle part of European Russia), 1200 and 700 km, respectively, from the main part of the ranges of these species. Adults and larvae of Ch. tundralis feed on Lamium purpureum, those of Ch. roddi feed on Seseli intermedia there. Diagnostic characters of the adults of both species are reported.     

A new species,a new synonym,and new records of the hover-fly genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cheilosia</Emphasis> Meigen (Diptera,Syrphidae)

A new species, Cheilosia richterae sp. n., is described in the nominotypical subgenus, being most closely related there to Ch. annulifemur Stackelberg, 1930. Two species, Ch. sootryeni Nielsen, 1970 and Ch. rufimana (Becker, 1984), are recorded from Russia for the first time. Ch. kuznetzovae Skufjin, 1977 is recorded for the first time from the Urals and western Siberia. The subgenus Nephocheila Barkalov, 2002 is synonymized with Nephomyia Matsumura, 1916. Figures of the male and female heads and the male genitalia are given for all the species.     

A new species of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nalassus</Emphasis> Mulsant (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Helopini) from the Baltic amber

The first Eocene species of the tribe Helopini, Nalassus klebsi sp. nov., from the Baltic amber is described. The new species is included in the nominative subgenus and similar to the extant species N. dermestoides (Illiger) and N. laevioctostriatus (Goeze), from which it differs in the shape of eyes (eyes are considerably less transverse than in living Palearctic species of the genus Nalassus Mulsant), the shape of the pronotum with acute posterior angles (other Palearctic Nalassus have obtuse or straight pronotal angles) as well as convex elytral intervals. Species of the less specialized nominative subgenus are widespread in forests and (partly) alpine landscapes of Europe (eastwards up to the Urals) and eastern Asia.     

A review of species of the subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Taeniosticha</Emphasis> Motsch., genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysolina</Emphasis> Motsch. (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae), distributed in the Dzungar Ata Tau and Tien Shan Mt. Ranges,with descriptions of two new species

Species of the subgenus Taeniosticha, genus Chrysolina, from the Dzungar Ala Tau, Northern and Central Tien Shan, are revised. A key to the species and figures of the aedeagus of each species are given. Two new species, Chrysolina klimenkoi sp. n. and Ch. sairannurica sp. n., are described from Southeastern Kazakhstan and Northwestern China. Two new species-groups are distinguished: the Ch. alatavica species-group distributed in the Dzungar Ala Tau and Boro-Khoro Mountain Ranges, and the Ch. tianshanica species-group with its members occurring in the Northern and Central Tien Shan. A scheme of the species distribution is given.     

The Larvae of Three Species of Jewel Beetles of the Subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysoblemma</Emphasis> Jakovlev, 1889, Genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sphenoptera</Emphasis> Dejean, 1833 (Coleoptera,Buprestidae), from Turkmenistan

The larvae of three species of jewel beetles of the subgenus Chrysoblemma Jakovlev of the genus Sphenoptera Dejean are described: Sphenoptera (Ch.) tamarisci beckeri Dohrn reared from Horaninovia ulicina Fisch. et Mey., Atriplex tatarica L. and Salsola arbuscula Pall.; Sphenoptera (Ch.) tomentosa Jakovlev from Salsola arbuscula; Sphenoptera (Ch.) amplicollis Jakovlev from Salsola orientalis S.G. Gmel. and Halothamnus glaucus (Bieb.) Botsch. Differential diagnoses to distinguish them from the previously described sphenopterine larvae are given.     

Composition of the subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zeugotaenia</Emphasis>, genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysolina</Emphasis> (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae), and examination of the nomenclatural types

Zeugotaenia Motschulsky, 1860 is resurrected as a valid name for the subgenus of Chrysolina with the type species Chrysomela limbata Fabricius, 1775. Diagnosis of the subgenus is compiled. Neotypes of Chrysomela limbata and Ch. limbifera Küster, 1846, and lectotypes of Chrysomela findelii Suffrian, 1851, Ch. hochhuthii Suffrian, 1851, and Ch. discipennis Faldermann, 1835 are designated. The types of Chrysomela limbata jenisseiensis Breit, 1920 and Chrysolina limbata kavani Bechyné, 1950 and the topotypes of Chrysomela limbata luigionii Depoli, 1936 are examined. Chrysolina furva Peyerimhoff, 1926 and Ch. dohrnii Fairmaire, 1865 do not belong to the subgenus Zeugotaenia.     

Review of the fauna of the bug families Ceratocombidae,Tingidae, Microphysidae,and Reduviidae (Heteroptera) of the Middle and South Urals,with analysis of the zoogeographie structure of the Tingidae fauna

Based on the material of the authors’ collections from the South Ural Reserve (Republic of Bashkortostan), Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk provinces, the collections of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Ilmen State Reserve (Chelyabinsk Province), and the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Yekaterinburg), and also the reliable literature data, an annotated list of the true bug fauna of the Middle and South Urals is compiled for the first time. The list includes representatives of the families Ceratocombidae (1 species), Tingidae (45 species of 14 genera), Microphysidae (1 species), and Reduviidae (2 species of 1 genus). The known fauna of the Middle Urals (Perm Territory and Sverdlovsk Province) includes 24 species of Tingidae and 1 species of Microphysidae; that of the South Urals includes 1 species of Ceratocombidae, 41 species of Tingidae, 1 species of Microphysidae, and 2 species of Reduviidae. Six species are recorded from the Urals for the first time: Ceratocombus (Xylonannus) brevipennis Poppius, 1910 (Ceratocombidae), Acalypta gracilis gracilis (Fieber, 1844), Agramma tropidopterum Flor, I860 (Tingidae), Loricula (Myrmedobia) exilis (Fallén, 1807) (Microphysidae), Empicoris culiciformis (De Geer, 1773), and E. vagabundus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Reduviidae). The families Ceratocombidae and Microphysidae were not previously known from this region. The following numbers of species are recorded for the first time for different regions of the Middle and South Urals: for Perm Territory, 2 species of Tingidae; for Sverdlovsk Province, 11 species of Tingidae and 1 of Microphysidae; for Bashkortostan, 1 species of Ceratocombidae, 13 of Tingidae, 1 ofMicrophysidae, and 2 species of Reduviidae; for Chelyabinsk Province, 3 species of Tingidae. The Tingidae fauna of the Middle and South Urals mostly includes species widespread in the latitudinal and longitudinal directions, including 4 Holarctic (8.9%) and 12 Trans-Palaearctic species (26.7%). Ranges of 24 species (53.3%) mainly lie in the “humid” northern part of the Palaearctic (the humid complex of species). Ranges of 21 species (46.7%) mainly lie in the southern part of the Palaearctic, i.e., the Tethyan Region (the arid complex), the Tingidae fauna of the Middle Urals including only 2 species (8.3%) of that complex. Seven species (17.1%) of Tingidae form the arid element in the fauna of Orenburg Province: Kalama henschi (Puton, 1892), Galeatus vitreus Golub, 1974, G. scrophicus Saunders, 1876, Tingis (Tingis) pusilla (Jakovlev, 1873), T. (Tropidocheila) renovata Golub, 1977, T. (Tr.) maculata (Herrich-Schaeffer, 1838), Dictyla subdola (Horvath, 1905). Ranges of 7 species (15.5% of the whole studied fauna of Tingidae) are limited to the Middle and South Urals in the east and northeast. Ranges of 8 other species (17.8%) extend eastwards, beyond the Urals no farther than the south of Western Siberia and Western Kazakhstan. The mountain territory of the Middle and the South Urals obviously serves as a significant orographic and climatic barrier on the way of eastward expansion of some Western- and Central-Palaearctic species of Tingidae.     

First Record of the Subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Empis</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Planempis</Emphasis>) (Diptera,Empididae) from Middle Asia,with Description of a New Species

A new species of the subgenus Planempis Frey, 1953 (Diptera: Empididae), Empis (Planempis) gussakovskiisp. n., is described from Tajikistan, being the first record of the subgenus from Middle Asia. The relationships of the new species within the subgenus Planempis are shortly discussed. An updated check-list of Planempis species is provided.     

Composition and distribution of sibling species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chironomus</Emphasis> Meigen, 1803 (Diptera,Chironomidae) in Curonian Lagoon of the Baltic Sea

The species composition of Chironomus in the Curonian Lagoon has been investigated. It was shown that three sibling species of the plumosus group, namely, Ch. plumosus, Ch. balatonicus, and Ch. muratensis, and a first-generation interspecific hybrid Ch. muratensis × Ch. plumosus lived here. The occurrence frequency in the lagoon was 87, 19, 6, and 3% for Ch. plumosus, Ch. balatonicus, Ch. muratensis × Ch. plumosus, and Ch. muratensis, respectively. The species Ch. plumosus was recorded in all the areas (southern, central, and northern), while Ch. balatonicus was found only in the northern area in the village of Juodkrante near the city of Klaipeda. Presumably, the distribution of these sibling species is due to the presence of a salinity gradient in the lagoon.     

A review of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysolina lineella</Emphasis> species-group of the subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Anopachys</Emphasis> Motschulsky, 1860, genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysolina</Emphasis> Motschulsky, 1860 (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae, Chrysomelinae)

The Chrysolina lineella species-group of the subgenus Anopachys Motschulsky, 1860 is revised. Chrysolina watanabei Takizawa, 1970 is revalidated from the synonymy with Ch. lineigera (Jacobson, 1901). Ch. sundukovi Mikhailov, 2006 is a new junior synonym of Ch. watanabei. Special attention is paid to the infraspecific variability of the male and female genitalia. The structure of the aedeagal flagellum and the spermatheca are used as diagnostic characters. A key to species is included. Ch. watanabei is for the first time recorded from the Asian continent (Primorskii Territory of Russia and Northeastern China).     

A new subgenus and a new species of the tenebrionid genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leptodes</Emphasis> Dejean, 1834 (Coleoptera,Tenebrionidae)

The genus Leptodes was erected by Dejean (1834) for a single species, Sepidium boisduvalii Zubkoff, 1833, which is, consequently, the type species by monotypy. Kaszab (1959) established in Leptodes the subgenus Leptodinopsis based on the same type species, Sepidium boisduvalii. Thus the names Leptodes and Leptodinopsis are objective synonyms: Leptodes Dejean, 1834 = Leptodinopsis Kaszab, 1959, syn. n. A new subgenus Mesoleptodes G. Medvedev et Iljina subgen, n. (type species Leptodes semenowi Reitter, 1892) is established for species which Kaszab included in Leptodes s. str. A new species, Leptodes daghestanicus G. Medvedev et Iljina, sp. n., is described from Daghestan.     

New data on the taxonomy,distribution, and ecology of the weevil genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Otiorhynchus</Emphasis> germar (Coleoptera,Curculionidae)

The subgenus Pocusogetus Rtt. of the genus Otiorhynchus Germ. is revised. The subgenus includes O. rosti Strl., O. shapovalovi Davidian et Yunakov, O. obsulcatus Strl., O. fischtensis Rtt., and O. gusakovi sp. n. closely related to O. fischtensis (both from Mt. Fisht, the Western Caucasus). O. fischtensis is transferred from the subgenus Vicoranius Rtt., its lectotype is designated. A key to species of Pocusogetus is given. The systematic position of the subgenera Pocusogetus and Vicoranius in the genus Otiorhynchus is discussed. New data on the geographical distribution and ecology of the little-known species of the subgenera Obvoderus Rtt., Pseudoprovadilus Magnano, and Clypeorhynchus Yunakov et Arzanov are given. Some features of ecological differentiation between Otiorhynchus species in the alpine and subalpine zones of the Caucasus are discussed.     

Karyotype characteristics of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chironomus fraternus</Emphasis> Wülker and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ch. beljaninae</Emphasis> Wülker (Diptera,Chironomidae) from Northern Russia

Karyotypes of Chironomus fraternus Wülker (2n = 8) (cytocomplex thummi) and Ch. beljaninae Wülker (2n = 6) (cytocomplex modified thummi) from the aberratus group are described. Both species are recorded for the first time for the Russian fauna. Their karyotypes are similar in the banding sequences of chromosome arms A, C, D, E, and F, which suggests that Ch. fraternus and Ch. beljaninae are sister species. Besides the chromosome number, the two species differ in some karyotype markers, the amount of heterochromatin in the centromeres, and the chromosome arm combinations (AB, CD, EF, G in Ch. fraternus and GAB, CD, EF in Ch. beljaninae).     

Contribution to the knowledge of the weevil genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Otiorhynchus</Emphasis> Germ. (Coleoptera,Curculionidae) from Turkmenistan and adjacent territories

Data on 15 species of the subgenus Pseudotiorhynchus Magnano, 2004 of the genus Otiorhynchus Germar, 1822 from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran are given. Otiorhynchus lukarevskayae Davidian, sp. n., O. karakalensis Davidian et Savitsky, sp. n., O. konstantini Davidian et Savitsky, sp. n., O. muratovi Savitsky et Davidian, sp. n., O. kopetdagicus Savitsky et Davidian, sp. n., and O. shakhensis Savitsky et Davidian, sp. n. from Turkmenistan, and O. khorasanus Savitsky et Davidian, sp. n. from Iran are described as new to science. A new synonymy is established: Pseudotiorhynchus Magnano, 2004 = Crassorhynchus Magnano, 2004, syn. n. Otiorhynchus iranensis Magnano, 2004 is transferred from the subgenus Protarammichnus Voss, 1960 to the subgenus Pseudotiorhynchus. Lectotype of O. conicirostris Stierlin, 1886 is designated. A key to 15 species of the subgenus Pseudotiorhynchus is given. The new subgenus Microhanibotus Savitsky et Davidian, subgen. n. is established for the new species O. ghilarovi Davidian et Savitsky, sp. n. from the Western Kopet Dagh in Turkmenistan. Microhanibotus subgen. n. is closely related to the subgenera Pseudotiorhynchus, Hanibotus Reitter, 1912 and Nubidanus Reitter, 1912.     

The structure of the claspettes in the male genitalia of the subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ochlerotatus</Emphasis> Lynch Arribalzaga of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aedes</Emphasis> Meigen (Diptera,Culicidae) and their diagnostic significance

The structure of the claspettes (modified projections in the male genitalia) in species of the subgenus Ochlerotatus Lynch Arribalzaga of the genus Aedes Meigen is described in detail. A thorough investigation of the three-dimensional structure of the claspettes is necessary for identification of the Ochlerotatus species from Russia. The study of 30 species of Ochlerotatus demonstrated that frequently the use of the claspette structure as a diagnostic character was incorrect when the claspettes were described as flat structures. Examination of the three-dimensional structure of the claspettes has revealed characters differentiating Aedes diantaeus, A. intrudens and A. pullatus; A. communis, A. punctor, and A. hexodontus; A. annulipes, A. excrucians, and A. euedes, as well as some other species.     

Three new species of the Weevil Genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Otiorhynchus</Emphasis> Germ. (Coleoptera,Curculionidae: Entiminae) from the Caucasus

Three new species of the genus Otiorhynchus Germar, 1822 are described from the Caucasus: O. titarenkoi sp. n. in the subgenus Motilacanus Reitter, 1912 and O. dittae sp. n. and O. zierisi sp. n. in the subgenus Eprahenus Reitter, 1912. The incivilis species-group is transferred from the subgenus Choilisanus Reitter, 1912 to the subgenus Eprahenus (new subgeneric placement).