Coleoptera Fauna Beetles of Nest Birds of the Northern Caucasus

Abstract

In this article, we present a faunistic list of species of the order Coleoptera from 13 families: 40 species collected from the nests of 24 bird species in the North Caucasus. To our previously published data, the list of coleopteran species has increased by 2 species. We were able to identify about 20 optional species that got into the bird's nest by accident. These species are not covered and discussed in this article. The rest of the species have complex biocenotic relationships with the host's nest. The transition of species to habitat under conditions of microbiocenosis, which is the nest, is an important evolutionary step. Which deserves a thorough study. In terms of its geographical position, the North Caucasus is a refugium for birds; many species are sedentary throughout the year. This has resulted in a high level of biodiversity of nidicolous Coleoptera compared to the northern geographic regions. The material presented in the article served to create a database on the species of Coleoptera living in nests of birds, this will allow in the future to analyze the seasonal dynamics of the number, as well as the association with one or another host. This work is relevant in the light of the latest data on climate change as well as anthropogenic pressure on natural ecosystems. The species composition of birds is decreasing, while the number of synanthropic species is increasing. Accordingly, we can predict the number of nidicolous species, some of them are of great sanitary and epidemiological significance.