The Palaearctic centers of taxonomic diversity of fleas (Siphonaptera)

The Palaearctic flea fauna includes 921 species and 479 subspecies from 96 genera of 10 families. Of them, 858 species (94%) from 43 genera are endemic to the Palaearctic; they comprise 40% of the Palaearctic Hystrichopsyllidae, 24% of Ceratophyllidae, and 20% of Leptopsyllidae. Ranges of 581 species (63% of the Palaearctic fauna) are situated within one province or subregion of the Palaearctic. Species with ranges including a part of Asia (592) comprise 87% of the total fauna; 72% of the species (517) are endemic to the Palaearctic. The largest centers of taxonomic diversity of Palaearctic fleas are situated in the East Asian, Central Asian, and Turano-Iranian Subregions: 320 species of fleas (214 of them endemic) from 59 genera (8 endemic) are known from the East Asian Subregion; 270 species (over 120 endemic) from 54 genera (5 endemic) are distributed in the Central Asian Subregion. The Turano-Iranian fauna comprises 213 species (103 endemic) from 47 genera (3 endemic); about 160 species occur in the Turanian Subprovince closest to the Russian borders, one-third of them (52 species, or 33%) are endemic; 69 species more are endemic to the entire Asian part of the Palaearctic. Extra-Asian and extra-Siberian ranges are known in 190 flea species. In the western Palaearctic, 76 species are endemic to the European Province, and 57 species, to the Mediterranean Province; 36 species have Euro-Mediterranean distribution. The fauna of the Saharo-Arabian Subregion comprises 30 species (12 endemic), 6 species have ranges of the Mediterranean-Saharo-Arabian type. Scenarios of the origin of the Siphonaptera at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary are hypothesized. Formation of the Palaearctic flea fauna was mostly supported by the Asian-Indo-Malayan and East Asian-Western American palaeofaunal centers of taxonomic diversity. The long history of faunal exchange between the east Palaearctic and the west Nearctic is manifested by the distribution of the parasites of rodents and insectivores, fleas of the genera Stenoponia, Rhadinopsylla, Nearctopsylla, and Catallagia, belonging to several subfamilies of the Hystrichopsyllidae, as well as members of a number of other flea families. A great number of endemic species in the genera Palaeopsylla and Ctenophthalmus (Hystrichopsyllidae), both in the European and Asian parts of the Palaearctic, can be explained by the junction of the European and Asian continental platforms in the late Cretaceous and their subsequent isolation during the Paleocene. A considerable contribution to the flea fauna in the Russian territory was made by the East Asian-Nearctic center of taxonomic diversity, with a smaller role of the European palaeofauna. Immigration of species of the family Pulicidae from the Afrotropical Region is restricted to the southern territories of Russia.     

Patterns of formation of the flea (Siphonaptera) fauna in the Caucasus

Fleas of the Caucasus belong to 155 species of 40 genera, constituting 17% and 43% of the species and generic composition of the Palaearctic fauna, respectively. The Caucasian fauna includes 23 endemic species but no endemic genera or subgenera. In the number of species, the Caucasian fauna is similar to that of the Mediterranean Subregion and is significantly poorer than the faunas of the Euro-Siberian (by 2.2 times) and Irano-Turanian (by 1.7 times) Subregions. Based on taxonomic diversity, we can propose a hypothesis on the West and East Palaearctic sources of the Caucasian fauna. The West Palaearctic source has determined the distribution of pulicomorph fleas of the families Pulicidae and Coptopsyllidae from Africa, on the one hand, and of fleas of the genera Ctenopthalmus and Palaeopsylla from Europe, on the other hand. Fleas of the Holarctic genera, such as Ceratophyllus and Megabothris, entered the Caucasus by the north Asian route; fleas of the genera Neopsylla, Rhadinopsylla, and Hystrichopsylla migrated to the Caucasus from east and central Asia by the south Asian route, through Middle and Western Asia.     

Taxonomic composition and zoogeographic characteristics of the flea fauna (Siphonaptera) of Russia

255 species and 59 subspecies of fleas from 55 genera of 7 families are known from Russia, which is 30% of the Palaearctic fauna. Additionally, over 187 species of 47 genera from 7 families are known from the neighboring territories of Central and Southern Europe, Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, Middle Asia, Mongolia, Northeast China, and Japan. 13 species of 12 genera are known only from Russia. Noteworthy is the low percent of endemic species (not more than 4%) and genera (one genus) in the Russian fauna. The principal centers of taxonomic diversity in the Palaearctic, including many endemic species and genera, lie in the Eastern Asian, Central Asian, and Turano-Iranian Subregions, outside Russia and the Euro-Siberian Subregion. The bulk of the Russian fauna is formed by the species and genera of the three largest flea families: Hystrichopsyllidae, Ceratophyllidae, and Leptopsyllidae. The family Ceratophyllidae has the greatest number of genera in the Russian fauna, and Hystrichopsyllidae, the greatest number of species. Western (Western and Western-Central Palaearctic; 84 species from 41 genera of 7 families) and Eastern (Central-Eastern and Eastern Palaearctic; 78 species from 42 genera of 6 families) species are nearly equally represented in the Russian fauna.     

The fauna of bloodsucking insects of Northwestern Russia. Characteristics of the ranges

The fauna of the Northwestern region of Russia comprises 285 species of bloodsucking insects. The number of species of mosquitoes and lice in the Northwest constitute 40% of the total numbers in the Russian fauna; that of the biting midges, 38%; horseflies, 35%; blackflies, 30%, and fleas, 19%. Representatives of 4 dipteran families of the “gnus” complex, and also lice and fleas of the Northwestern Russian fauna possess ranges of 12 types, most of which include large part of the Holarctic or Palaearctic; 57 species (20%) of the species have Holarctic ranges; 82 species, or 28%, trans-Palaearctic ranges; 49 species, or 17%, Western-Central Palaearctic ranges; and 73 species, or 25%, Western-Palaearctic ranges. The fraction of species (8) with other range types is 19%. A synopsis of the species groups characterized by these types of ranges is given. Species with ranges extending as far northwards as the tundra zone constitute 13%, those with ranges including the taiga zone, 60%, and those with other range types, 27% of the fauna.     

Revision of Palaearctic mountain midges (Diptera: Deuterophlebiidae), with phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses of world species

Abstract. The mountain midges (Diptera: Deuterophlebiidae) of the Palaearctic Region are revised to include eight species. Four new species are described: D. brachyrhina sp. nov., D.oporina sp. nov. and D. blepharis sp.nov. from the Himalayas (Assam and Sikkim), and D.bicarinata sp. nov. from southern Korea. A lectotype is designated for D.mirabilis Edwards, and a key to adult males of all Palaearctic species is provided.
Larval, pupal and adult characters were used to reconstruct the phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships of world species of Deuterophlebiidae. Based on features of the adult male, the Himalayan species D. brachyrhina and D. oporina are considered the most primitive deuterophlebiids. The Nearctic species D. inyoensis is proposed as the sister group of the remaining species. Relationships among the latter are based primarily on larval and pupal characters; however, lack of information about the immature stages of several Palaearctic species contributes to a poorly resolved phylogeny. Several alternative hypotheses are presented and discussed. All phylogenetic alternatives suggest that the Nearctic fauna originated from at least two invasions of North America.     

Bloodsucking dipterans (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae,Culicidae, Simuliidae,Tabanidae) of the Kurgala Peninsula,Leningrad Province

The fauna of bloodsucking dipterans of the Kurgala Peninsula comprises 73 species, 34 of which belong to mosquitoes (Culicidae), 18 to blackflies (Simuliidae), 5 to biting midges (Ceratopogonidae, genus Culicoides), and 16 species to horseflies (Tabanidae). Nine species of the bloodsucking dipterans found on the Kurgala Peninsula are new to Leningrad Province, 6 of them being also recorded for the first time for the neighboring territories of Estonia and southern Finland.     

Zoogeographical affinities and faunal relationships of bee flies (Diptera: Bombyliidae) in Egypt

The distributions of 229 beefly (Diptera: Bombyliidae) species across the eight Egyptian ecological zones, together with their faunal affinities to the main zoogeographical regions, were used to test the suggestion of Holt et al. (2013) that the SaharoArabian is a distinct region rather than a subregion of the Palaearctic. All Egyptian ecological zones but one have greater affiliation to the Palaearctic and SaharoArabian than to the Afrotropical region; the Gebel Elba ecological zone, the southeastern triangle of Egypt, has greater affinities with the Afrotropics. Affinities to the Saharo-Arabian region were not different from those to the Palaearctic. From its bombyliid fauna, therefore, the Saharo-Arabian region is so closely allied to the Palaearctic as to constitute merely a subregion of it. Sinai shows a high level of endemism reflecting its isolation from other parts of Egypt.     

云南蚤类区系及分布特征

【目的】在收集汇总以往野外调查资料以及已经发表的历史文献资料基础上,归纳云南蚤类的分布特点,分析云南地理小区对蚤类的影响。【方法】在实地采集和补充文献记录基础上,对收集到的蚤类进行系统分类整理;运用SPSS13.0的主成分分析及系统聚类对数据进行处理。【结果】本研究共记录云南蚤类9科45属144种,其中古北种15种,东洋种 108种,东洋、古北两界兼有种15种,广布种6种。144种蚤中,属于云南特有蚤类有75种;横断山中部小区记载蚤类122种,横断山南部小区26种,滇东高原小区41种,滇西高原小区28种,滇南山地小区25种。主成分分析和聚类分析结果基本一致,均可聚为两类：一类为横断山南部小区、滇南山地小区、滇西高原小区及滇东高原小区; 另一类为横断山中部小区。【结论】云南省蚤类分布明显受到地理小区环境的影响。云南省蚤类昆虫种类繁多,蚤类的自然分布受到云南省特定地形地貌影响。     

江西省鄱阳湖自然保护区昆虫区系初探

据对有较详细分布资料的220种昆虫的分析,鄱阳湖自然保护区昆虫属东洋界范畴,但已接近古北界南缘;昆虫种类形成了古北,东洋两大区系成分交叉重叠现象．亦是两大区系交叉过渡地带。在我国东部地区,与鄱阳湖共有种的分布规律为随着纬度的增高而递减。本文论述了鄱阳湖33种昆虫在我国东半部分布的南北限。     

Zoogeographical analysis of the hoverfly fauna (Diptera, Syrphidae) of the northwestern Caucasus

The hoverfly fauna of the northwestern Caucasus comprises 257 species of 72 genera. They possess 32 types of ranges that could be united into 11 groups of ranges. Widespread species from the basis of the hoverfly fauna in the region: species with narrower ranges, those distributed in more than one zoogeographical region, and those distributed in more than one dominion, constitute 12.9%, 63.1%, and 24% of the fauna, respectively. The hoverfly fauna of the northwestern Caucasus is composed of nemoral species common for Europe and Mediterranean basin, and also by species widespread in the Palaearctic (92.9%). Autochthomous species constitute 5.5%, and species of the eastern Palaearctic origin, 1.6%. Hoverfly species with zoophagous larvae are the most widespread. The fraction of such species is low among species with narrowly local ranges (12.5%) and high among species with ranges including more than one dominion. Phytophagous species are wider represented among hoverflies with narrowly local ranges (44.7%) than among flies with interdominion ranges (8%). Ranges of dendrobiontic saprophagous species are determined by the presence of arboreal vegetation and no widespread polytopic hoverflies are found in this group. The distribution of mycetophagous species, commensals, and terrestrial saprophagous species is determined by the presence of fungi, ranges of some hymenopterans, and the presence of decaying plant remnants.     

The bloodsucking biting midges of Argentina (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

A key is presented for the identification of the adults of 54 species of bloodsucking ceratopogonids, 51 of which are known inhabitants of Argentina, and Culicoides uruguayensis Ronderos, C. pifanoi Ortiz, and C. trilineatus Fox, which are known to occur in bordering Uruguay and Paraguay. Wing photographs are provided of females of the 45 species of Culicoides. Three new species of Culicoides Latreille from Northeastern Argentina are described and illustrated: C. austroparaensis Spinelli, C. bachmanni Spinelli, and C. williamsi Spinelli. The following six species are recorded for the first time from Argentina and/or bordering localities in Paraguay: Leptoconops brasiliensis (Lutz), C. gabaldoni Ortiz, C. ginesi Ortiz, C. pifanoi Ortiz, C. pseudocrescentis Tavares and Luna Dias, and C. trilineatus; and C. estevezae Ronderos and Spinelli is newly recorded from Misiones province of Argentina. C. lopesi Barretto is excluded from the Argentinean ceratopogonid fauna.     

Contribution to the tachinid fauna of southwestern Turkey (Diptera: Tachinidae)

Faunistic records for 139 tachinid species from southwestern Turkey (Mu?la province and adjacent Ayd?n, Burdur, Denizli and Antalya provinces) are given. Another 17 species of the study area are known only from published records. The known fauna of Tachinidae of southwestern Turkey thus comprises 156 species. Zoogeographic analysis of the study area revealed that tachinids belong to 29 chorological categories, divided into two supergroups: 122 species (78.2%) are more eurybiontic, and also distributed in northern parts of the Palaearctic region (19 chorological categories belong here), whereas 34 species (21.8%) are distinctly thermophilic, and have a southern type of distribution (10 chorological categories are distinguished). Altogether, 52 species (33.3%) are recorded for the first time from Turkey.     

Pugs of the tribe Eupitheciini (Lepidoptera,Geometridae): the history of study and distribution over biogeographic regions

The World fauna of the tribe Eupitheciini is the most species-rich in the family Geometridae. This tribe includes about 1900 species (almost 3000 species-group names) from 47 genera; about one third of the genera (15) are monotypic. The generic diversity of Eupitheciini is the highest in the Australian (38 genera, 11 of them endemic) and Oriental regions (32 genera, 4 endemic) and the lowest in the Neotropical Region (possibly one genus only). The faunas of different biogeographic regions can be arranged in following order by their species richness: the Palaearctic (487 species), Oriental (397), Neotropical (346), Australian (251), Afrotropical (198), and Nearctic Regions (166 species). Eupithecia is the most species-rich genus in the family Geometridae and the entire order Lepidoptera, and one of the largest genera in the whole World fauna of insects. The greatest number of species of this genus is recorded in the Palaearctic Region (466 species), where Eupithecia accounts for about 95% of the tribe Eupitheciini. The mainland of the Oriental Region (especially the Himalayas) is also very species-rich; however the proportion of the Eupithecia representatives decreases towards Malaysia, Sundaland, and the Australian Region (about 2% of the tribe). The Eupitheciini faunas have the greatest similarity at the generic level between the Oriental and Australian Regions (the Jaccard and Sørensen coefficient values being 0.62 and 0.77, respectively). The Palaearctic fauna is more similar to the Afrotropical and Oriental faunas at the genus-group level. On the whole, the fauna of the Nearctic Region is similar to that the West Palaearctic, with the exception of the fact that representatives of the genera Gymnoscelis and Chloroclystis are absent in North America, although two endemic genera Nasusina and Prorella are present. At the genus-group level, the Nearctic fauna of Eupitheciini is more similar to the Neotropical (the Jaccard and Sørensen coefficients 0.20 and 0.33, respectively) than to the Palaearctic fauna (0.17 and 0.29). The number of synonymies is very high in the tribe Eupitheciini because of the homogeneity of this group, whose species are difficult to identify without the use of elaborate anatomical techniques. Modern revisions, catalogues, surveys, and atlases on Eupitheciini are absent for many countries and large geographic regions. Revisions of pugs of the tribe Eupitheciini for some biogeographic regions are extremely difficult because of fragmentation of entomological collections including the type specimens of many species-group taxa. A large fraction of synonyms is characteristic of parts of the World with the best known faunas: Europe (64% of synonyms) and North America (39%). On the contrary, the lowest levels of synonymy are typical of the less known faunas of the regions situated at the equatorial latitudes, namely the Neotropical (9%) and Afrotropical (8%) ones.     

重庆茶园蚁科昆虫区系分析

为了筛选对茶叶害虫有控制作用的蚂蚁种类,采用样地调查法研究了重庆地区茶园蚁科昆虫进行区系。发现蚁科昆虫4亚科,19属,39种,其中记录中国特有种7个,重庆新记录种37个。区系分析表明：重庆地区茶园蚂蚁区系在属级水平上以东洋界和古北界成分为主体,与马来西亚界和非洲界关系最紧密,与马拉加西界关系最远;在种级水平上以东洋界成分为主体,与古北界关系最紧密,与非洲界和马拉加西界关系最远;在中国动物地理区划中以华中区成分为主体,与其它地理区之间随着距离增加,关系逐步疏远。     

青藏高原丽蝇科昆虫物种多样性初探

本文从种数、特有物种和区系构成等角度分析了青藏高原丽蝇科昆虫的物种多样性。青藏高原已知丽蝇5亚科35属120种,占中国已知种数的44.28%,其中特有种55种,占该地区总种数的45.83%;区系构成以特有种、古北界 东洋界共同种及典型的东洋界种和古北界种为主,但澳洲界、新北界、非洲界和新热带界共同种也占一定比例。文中讨论了该地区特有种丰富的原因及地质历史环境对其的影响,分析了区系构成中各种区系成分的比例及形成原因。     

Bloodsucking dipteran insects (Diptera) attacking humans and animals (the “gnus” complex) in northwestern Russia: I. General characteristics of the fauna

The fauna of bloodsucking Diptera of northwestern Russia comprises 226 species of mosquitoes (Culicidae), biting midges (Ceratopogonidae), black flies (Simuliidae) and horseflies (Tabanidae). In particular, Culicidae include 41 species from 10 subgenera of 5 genera of 2 subfamilies. Simuliidae are represented by 110 species of 23 genera, belonging to 6 tribes of 2 subfamilies; the genus Culicoides of the Ceratopogonidae, by 31 species; and Tabanidae, by 44 species of 7 genera from 2 subfamilies. There is a necessity of elaboration and application of more advanced forms of information storage and field data standardization. In the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, a special database on the bloodsucking insects of Russia is created in the DBMS Access. A list of abundant bloodsucking species of mosquitoes, biting midges, black flies and horseflies is included. A brief synopsis of bibliography of investigations of the bloodsucking dipterans from northwestern Russia is given, provided with a list of more then 190 publication.     

Parasites of grass flies (Diptera, Chloropidae) from the order hymenoptera in the Holarctic region

Hymenopterous parasitoids of grass flies of the family Chloropidae from the Palaearctic and Nearctic regions are reviewed. These parasitoids belong to four superfamilies and 16 families of Hymenoptera and were reared from 39 species of Chloropidae in the Palaearctic (less than 6% of the fauna) and only from 10 species in the Nearctic Region. The majority of parasitoids are oligo-or polyphagous species. To a certain degree, the parasitoids are specialized on one of the three host groups: (1) species developing in shoots of cereal and meadow grasses; (2) forest species developing in cones of coniferous trees; and (3) species associated with the common reed, Phragmites australis. In the Palaearctic Region, the majority of parasitoids (91 species) were reared from Oscinella frit L. s. 1.; a significantly smaller number of these parasites is known from this host in the Nearctic Region, nearly half of the parasitoids being common for both regions. The next large group of parasitoids is associated with gall-inducing species of the genus Lipara Meigen (59 species) developing in the common reed. By contrast with two other groups of parasitoids, this one includes many species of the family Ichneumonidae. It should be noted that taxonomic diversity at the third trophic level is markedly greater than at the second level.     

Tabanidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia

Samples were collected from southern, central and eastern regions of Saudi Arabia using Malaise traps and sweep nets. Nine species of Tabanidae were identified, two for the first time from Saudi Arabia, Hybomitra peculiaris (Szilády) and Atylotus pulchellus (Loew).Therefore, the total number of Tabanidae in Saudi Arabia is 31 species. Remarks of the species recorded in this study were given. A key to the genera of Tabanidae occurring in the Arabian Peninsula is also provided. Available literature for Saudi Arabian Tabanidae is summarized and provided. It is concluded that the tabanid fauna of Saudi Arabia is more similar to that of the Palaearctic region than to the Afrotropical region.     

Means of the formation of gonotrophic relations in blood-sucking Diptera

Gonotrophic relations in low and higher bloodsucking Diptera are fundamentally different that results from an initial type of feeding and trophic behaviour. Trophic behaviour of low dipterous hematophages and gonotrophic harmony peculiar to them can be traced from entomophagy, that is from the predatory mode of life on account of small insects. By the type of the trophic behaviour low bloodsucking Diptera are predators with a typical moment contact with the prey. More primitive is a type of gonotrophic harmony characteristic of hunters for diffusely spread prey (incomplete blood portion provides the maturation of incomplete portion of eggs). Hunting for diffusely spread prey is characteristic of entomophages too. The appearance of gregarious ruminants facilitates the possibility of repeated contacts with prey and blood satiation threshold increases. This is a higher type of gonotrophic harmony providing a maximum realization of potential fecundity. The initial saprophagy of higher Diptera is associated with another type of trophic behaviour (long contact with food substratum) that is a prerequisite for quite a different way of evolution of host-parasite relationships in higher Diptera. This leads to more close connections with the host and excludes gonotrophic harmony. Females were the first to begin the exploitation of vertebrate animals. This is connected with the peculiarities of their behaviour during egg laying such as the stay near animals for laying eggs into fresh dung. Autogeneity, nectarophagy and aphagia are homologous phenomena which reflect the loss of an animal component of food or both components at the level of non-specialized saprophagy rather than secondary loss of bloodsucking. The scheme of gonotrophic relations is given.     

Zoogeographical characteristics of the Systellognatha (Plecoptera) fauna of Russia and adjacent countries

The stonefly fauna of the Systellognatha group of Russia and adjacent countries comprises 120 species belonging to 43 genera of 5 families. According to the geographical distribution, 12 groups of genera and 16 species-groups are distinguished. Most of the genera belong to the Holarctic (5), Nearctic-Eastern Palaearctic (7), Amphipacific (9), and Western Palaearctic (8) groups; among the species, the Eastern Palaearctic (29), Palaearchearctic (25), and Western Palaearctic (19) ones are prevalent. There are endemic species, especially in the Caucasus and Middle Asia.