New findings of pest sciarid species (Diptera, Sciaridae) in Ukraine, with the first record of Bradysia difformis
New findings of pest sciarid species (Diptera, Sciaridae) in Ukraine, with the first record of Bradysia difformis

Summary/Abstract: Sciarids (Diptera, Sciaridae) or black fungus gnats are small, mainly dark coloured insects whose larvae usually develop in rotting plant remains permeated by fungal hyphae. Typical habitats for sciarids are shaded forests and wet meadows, but some species can migrate from natural biotopes to anthropogenic ecosystems and live as synanthropes. Synanthropic sciarid species in the case of their larvae mass development, may cause significant damage to agricultural plants and mushrooms and are considered as pests. The information on pest activities of sciarids in the literature is provided for 34 species, but only 7 species can be considered as dangerous pests. In the framework of taxonomic and ecological research on Sciaridae in Ukraine, some chorological and faunistic peculiarities of pest sciarids have been studied. We collected material during the expeditions and excursions in different biotopes of Ukraine from 2012 to 2018 using the Malaise trap, by the method of non-count sweeping with entomological net and with exhauster directly from substrate. The collected imagoes were placed into 5 mL vials with 70% ethanol. In the lab, the fixed material was dehydrated in absolute ethanol and mounted on slides in Euparal.

• Details
• Contents