Marek Kucharczyk

Micro-habitat nest preferences of the great bittern, Botaurus stellaris, on fishponds in central-eastern Poland

The nest-site requirements of the great bittern Botaurus stellaris females in relation to habitat availability were studied in 2003–2006 at fish-pond complexes located in the Lublin and Podlasie regions (eastern Poland). The structure of emergent vegetation and water depth were measured and described in 230 control squares and 98 squares with occupied nests. Water depth, vegetation cover, the height and diameter of reed shoots, the number of flowering shoots, the density of old (dry) and new (green) reed shoots were measured. Great bittern females nested in all available types of emergent vegetation and most of the nests were located in reedbeds. Using the logistic regression model it was shown that when choosing the place for nesting the great bitterns preferred reedbeds with a high density of old-reed stems.

Screen traps as an efficient method in faunal research on fungus-feeding thrips (Tubulifera: Phlaeothripidae)

Abstract Studies on fungus-feeding thrips were carried out in two national parks ranked as biosphere reserves: the Białowieża National Park (north-east Poland) and the Bieszczady National Park (south-east Poland). IBL-2 screen traps were used as the main method in the forest communities. Traps were deployed in managed forests and the strict reserve in the Bialowieża NP, and along two trails in the lower forest belt up to its upper border with mountain meadows in the Bieszczady NP. Using IBL-2 traps revealed the presence of ten mycophagous species in the Białowieża NP and six in the Bieszczady NP. In the former Hoplothrips carpathicus, H. fungi, H. unicolor and H. polysticti, and in the latter H. carpathicus and Maderothrips longisetis were recorded for the first time in Poland.

Thrips (Thysanoptera) of the beech forests of south-eastern Poland

Wciornastki (Thysanoptera) lasów bukowych południowo-wschodniej Polski Thrips (Thysanoptera) of the beech forests of south-eastern Poland During research carried out in beech forests at 12 sites in six regions of south-eastern Poland 84 species of Thysanoptera were collected. Six of the species were present in all six regions, and 36 species in only one of them. The richest fauna (59 spp.) was located in the vicinity of Iwonicz Zdrój (the Low Beskid Mts.), followed by that of the forests in the Sandomierz Basin (47 spp.); a similar number of species were present in the Roztocze region (30 spp.) and the vicinity of Lesko (the Sanocko-Turczańskie Mts. - 32 spp.). The smallest number of species were reported from beech forests of northern slopes of the Babia Góra massif (23) and the Ojców National Park (18). Altogether 27 arboricolous species were recorded, among them six were mycophagous. Using specific methods that connect the presence of thrips with particular favourable micro-environmental habitats, larvae and adult thrips were collected from their host plants. These methods made it easier to locate particularly rare and vulnerable species within the Polish fauna, such as: Thrips crassicornis Bagnall, Scolothrips uzeli (Schille) and Haplothrips crassicornis (John). We recognized that T. crassicornis Bagnall and T. fulvipes Bagnall are characteristic of beech forests, although the former is already known from south-eastern Poland. Numerical analyses UPGMA and PCA were used to explore the similarities among species composition of thrips assemblages occurring in the studied regions.

First insight into microbiome profile of fungivorous thrips Hoplothrips carpathicus (Insecta: Thysanoptera) at different developmental stages: molecular evidence of Wolbachia endosymbiosis

Insects’ exoskeleton, gut, hemocoel, and cells are colonized by various microorganisms that often play important roles in their host life. Moreover, insects are frequently infected by vertically transmitted symbionts that can manipulate their reproduction. The aims of this study were the characterization of bacterial communities of four developmental stages of the fungivorous species Hoplothrips carpathicus (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae), verification of the presence of Wolbachia, in silico prediction of metabolic potentials of the microorganisms, and sequencing its mitochondrial COI barcode. Taxonomy-based analysis indicated that the bacterial community of H. carpathicus contained 21 bacterial phyla. The most abundant phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacterioidetes and Firmicutes, and the most abundant classes were Alphaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria, with different proportions in the total share. For pupa and imago (adult) the most abundant genus was Wolbachia, which comprised 69.95% and 56.11% of total bacterial population respectively. Moreover, similarity analysis of bacterial communities showed that changes in microbiome composition are congruent with the successive stages of H. carpathicus development. PICRUSt analysis predicted that each bacterial community should be rich in genes involved in membrane transport, amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, replication and repair processes.

A Puzzling Case of Successful Double-Brooding in the Little Bittern Ixobrychus m. minutus

The Little Bittern is one of the least studied heron species in its breeding range. The nominate, Palaearctic race Ixobrychus m. minutus has been generally assumed to be single-brooded only, yet detailed studies of its breeding biology and mating system are lacking. The present paper provides the first observational evidence of successful double-brooding in the nominate race of the Little Bittern and gives the first record of time-overlapping double-brooding in the species. Potential determinants of this breeding strategy as well as the frequency of its occurrence are discussed.

Characteristic and diagnostic features of the most frequently occurring species of the Thripidae family (Insecta, Thysanoptera) in crown canopies of Central European forests

Abstract The paper presents characteristic and morphological diagnostic features of females and second larval instar of six terebrantian species: Oxythrips ajugae Uzel 1895, O. bicolor (O. M. Reuter 1879), Taeniothrips inconsequens (Uzel 1895), Thrips calcaratus Uzel 1895, T. minutissimus Linnaeus 1758 and T. pini (Uzel 1895). The species are the most numerously and frequently caught in traps in the canopy layer of various Central European forests. Both adults and larvae of Oxythrips spp. may be easily recognized by features present at the end of their abdomen: the former by length of the abdominal segment X; the latter by differences in the length and position of spines. Adults of other the species mentioned above differ in the following features: number of antennal segments, number of setae in the distal part of their first pair of wings, presence or absence of additional setae on abdominal sternites and pleurites, presence or absence of a tooth on the tarsus of the first pair of legs. The main features differentiating larvae of these species (besides T. pini larva which have been hitherto undescribed) are body sclerotisation and length, and shape of the comb surrounding the IXth abdominal segment.