Vladimir Chikatunov

Note: five new invasive species of longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Israel

Five invasive species of longhorn beetles, all known as pests and originating from different geographical areas, are recorded from Israel for the first time:Phoracantha recurva (Newman) andXystrocera globosa (Olivier) were collected in nature;Chlorophorus annularis (Fabricius),Neoplocaederus basalis (Gahan) andRhagium inquisitor (Linnaeus) were reared from imported timber.

A random process may control the number of endemic species

The richness of endemic species is often recognized as an indication of the distinctiveness of certain local faunas and is used for the definition of conservation hotspots as well. Faunas of different animal taxa were considered in sets of contiguous geographical units. Comparing the faunas of different units in one set, we found an exponential increase in the number of endemics when plotted against the number of non-endemics. A model of independent stochastic population dynamics under the control of environmental oscillations produces random fluctuations in the ranges of species. Ranges of endemic species are supposedly narrower than ranges of co-occurring non-endemic species. In such a case, the flow of a random process leads to an exponential relationship between numbers of co-occurring endemic and non-endemic species. This process also produces an apparent positive correlation between total species number and the percentage of endemics.

New records of Heteroceridae (Coleoptera) from Israel

Until recently, only one species (Heterocerus fenestratus Thunberg, 1884) of the variegated mud-loving beetles, family Heteroceridae, was known from Israel. We found two more species in the collection of the Natural History Museum, Tel-Aviv University. These were H. flexuosus Stephens, 1828 and Augyles skalickyi Mascagni, 1993. Interestingly enough, A. skalickyi was described and known only from Turkmenistan. Additional specimens of H. fenestratus Thunb. that were found in the collection, together with specimens deposited in the collection of the first author, give a better picture of the distribution of this species in Israel.

Dermestid Beetles in 'Evolution Canyon', Lower Nahal Oren, Mt. Carmel, Including New Records for Israel

Fifteen species of dermestid beetles were recorded at ‘Evolution Canyon’ (EC), Lower Nahal Oren, Mt. Carmel, Israel. They represent ~35% of known Israeli dermestid species. The following three species were recorded for the first time in Israel:Trogoderma svriaca Dalla Torre, 1911;Ctesias svriaca Ganglbauer, 1904; andAnthrenus (s.str.) jordaniens Pic, 1934. Adults of 13 species were collected on the more solar radiated, warmer and climatically more fluctuating south-facing slope (SFS); ten species were collected on the opposite, north-facing slope (NFS), which was cooler and climatically more stable. The abundance of adult dermestid beetles was 1.9 times higher on the SFS than on the NFS (86 and 47, respectively). Species richness and abundance distribution at EC (three collecting stations on each slope and one at the valley bottom) were significantly negatively correlated with the plant cover that consisted of trees and bushes (Spearmanrs,P=0.007 and 0.039, respectively) and perennials (Spearmanrs,P=0.039 and 0.077, respectively), indicating that non-woody plants were preferred by adult dermestid beetles.

New records of leaf beetles from Israel.

Tom~g Pavlf~ek, 1,2 Vladimir Chikatunov, 3 Igor Lopat in 4 and Eviatar Nevo 1 1Inst. of Evolution, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel [Fax: +972-4-8246554; e-mail: rabi316@uvm.haifa.ac.il]; 2Inst. of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences, 37005 Cesk~ BudYjovice, Czech Republic; adept, of Zoology, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel; and 4Dept. of Zoology, Byelorussian University, 220080 Minsk, Byelorussia

Catalogue of the beetles (Coleoptera) in Israel and adjacent areas: 3. Chrysomelidae (except Alticinae)

Abstract This catalogue of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) without the Alticinae lists 204 species recorded from Israel and adjacent areas. All these species belong to the subfamilies Donacinae (2 species), Orsodacninae (1 species), Zeugophorinae (1 species), Criocerinae (6 species), Clytrinae (58 species), Cryptocephalinae (56 species), Eumolpinae (8 species), Chrysomelinae (33 species), Galerucinae (22 species), Hispinae (3 species), and Cassidinae (14 species). 84% or 171 species were collected from localities within Israel. The primary sources of data forming the basis of this catalogue were the beetle collection preserved in the National Insect Collection in Tel Aviv University, Israel, the beetle collection of I. LOPATIN, and published records. The catalogue also includes information on the distribution of the listed species in Israel and the Levant, and, if known, on their host plants as well.

Species diversity and microsite divergence of insects at “Evolution Canyon”, Lower Nahal Oren, Mt. Carmel, Israel (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

Abstract Local differences in species richness and abundance of buprestid beetles were studied at the microsite “Evolution Canyon”, Lower Nahal Oren, Mt. Carmel, Israel, a model conceived for studying biodiversity evolution in a microcosm of life in nature. 39 species were collected at the microsite, and species richness was higher on the more arid and microclimatically stressful and variable south-facing slope than on the milder, more humid and relatively homogeneous north-facing slope. The interslope differences in abundance were significant in five species. New larval host plants were added for nine species, as well as new data about the regional distribution of buprestid beetles. The results support earlier conclusions in various groups of organisms across phylogeny.

New records of deathwatch beetles (Anobiidae) from Israel

Abstract Four species of deathwatch beetles (Anobiidae) new for the Israeli fauna were found in the “Evolution Canyon”, Lower Nahal Oren, Mt. Carmel. The species were: Gastralus laevigatus, Xyletinus wewalkai, Priartobium serrifunis, and Stagetus elongatus. The number of known deathwatch beetles in Israel has thus risen to 27, but this is far from the final number.