Peculiarities of the development and seasonal dynamics of the activity of epigean beetles of the Polyphaga suborder (Coleoptera) in fields of winter wheat in the conditions of Southern Ukraine

In total, 168 beetle species from 25 families of the suborder Polyphaga have been recorded on winter wheat crops. 116 species (about 20 families) are registered as stratobionts: 14 were dominants, 32 – subdominants and about 70 species were very rare. The main representatives of stratobios were Staphylinidae, Silphidae, Dermestidae, Histeridae, some Elateridae and Scarabaeidae and most Tenebrionidae. Most staphylinids are more numerous in spring (late April – first half of May) and sometimes in summer (especially dominant Tachyporus hypnorum). A high number of Silphidae was noted by mid-May, but decreased in the summer months. Two peaks of abundance are characteristic of Anthicidae, Latridiidae and Cryptophagidae: the smaller in spring (the first half of May) and the maximum in summer (the second half of June – early July). The number of Dermestidae increases gradually from mid-May and reaches maximum from late May to early or mid-June. Among Tenebrionidae, the species of genera Opatrum and Gonocepalum are more numerous in spring than in summer. Crypticus quisquilius were numerous by mid-summer. Among Elateridae, high number of Agriotes sputator was recorded from May to mid-June, and the appearance of Aelosomus rossi was recorded from mid-April, with a peak in the first half of summer. In spring, some Scarabaeidae (some species of Geotrupinae and Pentodon idiota), Histeridae and some species of weevils were more numerous in summer. In years with different meteorological conditions, significant discrepancies were noted in the timing of the rise and fall in the number of many beetles. But smaller differences in the number of specimens are noted between different years in comparision with individual phases of wheat vegetation. Some features of the sex index of beetles (higher during egg laying) and the development of dominant species are briefly considered.