ORTHOPTEROUS INSECTS ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF VOLKHONSHCHINO VILLAGE (PENZA REGION)

Dobrolyubova Tat'yana Vasil'evna, Candidate of biological sciences, leading researcher, State nature reserve «Privolzhskaya lesostep», (12A Okruzhnaya street, Penza, Russia), tv_dobr@bk.ru
Yakushov Vasiliy Dmitrievich, Pupil of the 11th grade, Volkhonshchino high school (Volkhonshchino village,
Penza district, Penza region, Russia), padus.51@yandex.ru

595.72:574.3

Background. Orthopterous insects are one of the major groups of insects in steppe and meadow ecosystems. However, in Penza region they are not well studied. The aim of the study is to investigate fauna and community structure of orthopterous insects inhabiting three main types of meadow-steppe vegetation on the outskirts of Volkhonshchino village.
Materials and methods. The study was conducted in July–August, 2013. The species composition, spatial distribution, abundance and dominance structure were estimated in three main types of meadow-steppe vegetation (meadow-steppe, steppe-meadow, steppe-meadow with bushes [including those placed below the broad-leaved forests). We used common methods for quantitative estimation of the communities including sweeping on the special areas of 10 × 10 m areas with the combination of registration of number of strokes and time of sweep.
Results. One species of mantis and twenty-eight species of orthopteran were identified. Among them six species were found in Penza region for the first time. They are three species of grasshoppers (M. eversmanni,M. montana, Pl. intermedia), and three species of acridoid grasshoppers (Сh. pullus, G. rufus and A. thalassinus). There are 4 distinctive features of communities of the studied types of vegetation. In meadow-steppe maximal diversity, abundance, and dominance of steppe xerophilous species (Montana eversmanni, E. pulvinatus) were detected. Whereas common dominants in meadow-steppe and steppe-meadow are polyzonal eurytopic species Chorthippus gr. biguttulus as well as northern-steppe mesophilous Bicolorana bicolor and Phaneroptera falcata. In steppe-meadow with bushes the amount of south-forest and polyzonal species is increased with dominanting mesophilous species Chorthippus apricarius, Ch. macrocerus, Euthystira brachyptera and Phaneroptera falcata.
Conclusions. Our data support the pattern that species diversity and abundance of orthopterans is high in more xerophilous ecosystems.

orthopterans, fauna, community structure.

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