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The starting point for this study was a surprising observation: there are among taxonomically and presumably well-known forest beetle groups Nordic forms that have remained unnoticed earlier. These species pairs may differ in their ecology, which is significant in terms of conservation issues.
In Finland many forest beetles species live isolated from the species’ main distribution area. Often they have entered Finland from east. The broken connection to the main distribution area in east clearly deserves more attention. These species do not get any re-enforcements elsewhere – they have adapted to the conditions in Finland. Their conservational value is much higher than previously thought, if their evolutionary divergence suggests this. There is reason to believe that the situation is similar in Sweden. On European aspen and bay willow
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A pair of Hylochares cruentatus
copulating on a black willow
(Salix myrsinifolia) trunk.
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Hylochares cruentatus (Gyllenhal) was a rare false click beetle species already 200 years ago. Its occurrence in large European aspens was demonstrated in Karelia in the 1990´s, and it became a model example of the impact of declining large-sized European aspens from Finland. When Hylochares cruentatus was re-discovered in Finland, it became evident that the populations found in Karelia, the Altai and Estonia differed clearly in their habitat requirements and morphology from the Finnish ones. However, no mitochondrial DNA differnces were found, thus it seems to be a very recent speciation event. The Finnish species was given the name ‘halavasepikkä’ referring to its host tree bay willow and the old name “haapasepikkä” was given to the newly described species occurring outside Finland, Hylochares populi Brüstle & Muona.
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Hylochares cruentatus, develops in black willow tree (Salix myrsinifolia) and bay willow (Salix pentandra), not in European aspen as previously thought. The aspen species is a recently described separate taxon, Hylochares populi, not known from Finland.
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Objectives
The aim of this project is to screen similar kind of “hiding” speciation events from threatened forest beetle species. The majority of the species under investigation inhabit herb rich forests and usually develop in deciduous trees. Other species included occur in extremely isolated populations in Finland. Most of the forest beetles in Finland are not threatened. In this project, we aim to screen the species potentially in need of re-assessment of their status. Application of results
The project will produce a species list of forest beetles relevant in terms of conservational needs in Southern Finland – a valuable tool for conservation plans. When collecting the data, the aim is to increase knowledge on distribution and ecology of species. The information will be documented as pictures, videos and literature for all environmental authorities and anybody interested in nature. Research group
Project leader is Jyrki Muona, the Finnish Museum of Natural History. Nordic partners are Henrik Wallin, Uppsala Science Park c/o Skogforsk and Torstein Kvamme, Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute. Marianna Teräväinen, the Finnish Museum of Natural History, is responsible for sequence methods and analyses. Further information
Jyrki Muona, Finnish Museum of Natural History, firstname.lastname@helsinki.fi
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