The insect community of <i>Plantago lanceolata</i> spikes in the Åland Islands, SWFinland
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33338/ef.50914Abstract
We describe the structure of the insect community of Plantago lanceolata spikes based on rearings collected from Åland Islands and literature. Our main focus was on occurrences and local abundances of the host-specific Mecinus pascuorum (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), its main parasitoid Mesopolobus incultus (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) and two hyperparasitoids Baryscapus endemus (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and Eupelmus vesicularis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae). Sampling was performed in two networks of habitat patches in 2000 and 2001 (89 patches), and in 18 networks in 2009 (643 patches). We detected five herbivorous, one predatory and 33 parasitoid taxa of Coleoptera, Diptera andHymenoptera, as well as several Hemiptera and Thysanoptera species. Clinodiplosis cilicrus (Kieffer, 1889) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) is reported as new to Finland. All four focal species were very abundant. The rest of the species occurred rather sporadically and were mainly generalists either feeding on P. lanceolata spikes or attacking insects feeding on spikes or their parasitoids.
