Oto Majzlan

Revision of the megerlei-group of the cockroach genus Phyllodromica Fieber (Blattaria: Blattellidae, Ectobiinae)

The species of the megerlei-group are characterised by shortened wings with typical scattered dark spots and large simple glands on tergite 7 without inner structures. Two of the species are widely distributed from south-eastern Germany to Romania and Ukraine (P. megerlei Fieber) or from Turkey to Syria (P. asiatica Bey-Bienko), the third is endemic for eastern Bulgaria (P. pulcherrima sp. n.). The characteristics of the megerlei-group are described and the relationships with the tyrrhenica-group are discussed.

First records of Opilio saxatilis C. L. Koch, 1839 (Arachnida, Opiliones, Phalangiidae) from Serbia

We report the first record of Opilio saxatilis C. L. Koch, 1839 (Arachnida, Opiliones, Phalangiidae) from Serbia. The species was observed in the alluvium of the Tisa River in the Special Nature Reserve Ritovi donjeg Potisja.

Epigean communities of harvestmen (Opiliones) in Pannonian Basin floodplain forests: an interaction with environmental parameters

During the years 2015–2016, we studied the fauna of epigeon in eight similar habitats in Slovakia and Serbia. The study material of Opiliones was obtained by a pitfall trap method. We focused on the comparison of the incidence of harvestmen in floodplain forests and ecotones alongside the Danube River in Slovakia and along the Tisa and Begej River in Serbia. We examined their dependence on anthropogenic impact (frequency of visits), cover of vegetation layers (herbs, shrubs and trees), plant diversity of vegetation layers, area of forest stands, distance to the forest edge, circumference of forest stands, age of forest stands, thickness of litter layer and physico-chemical properties of soil and litter (pH, conductivity, P, N, C, H). Total epigeic activity of harvestman showed significant positive relationship with proportion of N in litter. Community equitability was positively related with species richness of plant communities in shrub layer and negatively related with H content of soil. We did not find any significant correlations between diversity of harvestman communities and measured environmental characteristics.