New records of beetle species (Coleoptera) from the Polish part of Białowieża Forest with special emphasis on the genus Episernus C.G. Thomson, 1863 (Ptinidae) in Central Europe

Abstract

This paper presents data on 23 beetle species recorded for the first time from the Białowieża Forest (Polish part), and among them two species new for the fauna of Poland. All the beetles were collected using multifunnel (Lindgren) traps, placed in the the selected sites of the study area in 2018. Collected species belong to 13 families: Carabidae (1 species), Corylophidae (1), Curculionidae (1), Dermestidae (1), Elateridae (2), Eucnemidae (1), Laemophloeidae (1), Latridiidae (2), Nitidulidae (1), Ptinidae (3), Staphylinidae (7), Throscidae (1) and Trogossitidae (1). Episernus angulicollis C. G. Thomson, 1863 and E. tatarinovae Toskina et Nikitsky, 2003 (Ptinidae) are recorded for the first time from Poland, and Microrhagus pyrenaeus Bonvouloir, 1872 (Elateridae) and Leptusa norvegica Strand, 1941 (Staphylinidae), for the second time. Distribution of all the above species in Poland is briefly discussed and details on the biology of some of them are given. An identification key for the species of the genus Episernus C. G. Thomson, 1863 from Central Europe is presented. Species diversity of beetles in the Polish part of Białowieża Forest is estimated based on published data.