Drivers of wood-inhabiting fungal diversity in European and Oriental beech forests.

The hyperdiverse wood-inhabiting fungi play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle, but often are threatened by deadwood removal, particularly in temperate forests dominated by European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis). To study the impact of abiotic drivers, deadwood factors, forest management and biogeographical patterns in forests of both beech species on fungal composition and diversity, we collected 215 deadwood-drilling samples in 18 forests from France to Armenia and identified fungi by meta-barcoding. In our analyses, we distinguished the patterns driven by rare, common, and dominant species using Hill numbers. Despite a broad overlap in species, the fungal composition with focus on rare species was determined by Fagus species, deadwood type, deadwood diameter, precipitation, temperature, and management status in decreasing order. Shifting the focus on common and dominant species, only Fagus species, both climate variables and deadwood type remained. The richness of species within the deadwood objects increased significantly only with decay stage. Gamma diversity in European beech forests was higher than in Oriental beech forests. We revealed the highest gamma diversity for old-growth forests of European beech when focusing on dominant species. Our results implicate that deadwood retention efforts, focusing on dominant fungi species, critical for the decay process, should be distributed across precipitation and temperature gradients and both Fagus species. Strategies focusing on rare species should additionally focus on different diameters and on the conservation of old-growth forests.

Revision of the subgenus Hemiglaphyrus Champenois, 1903 of Glaphyrus Latreille, 1807, with description of three new species and Atticoglaphyrus new subgenus (Coleoptera: Glaphyridae).

The subgenus Hemiglaphyrus Champenois, 1903 of Glaphyrus Latreille, 1807 is revised. It currently includes four species: G. (H.) caucasicus Kraatz, 1882 (type species), G. (H.) armeniacus Ghrejyan, Kalashian & Sabatinelli, new species from Armenia, G. (H.) urartu Sabatinelli, Ghrejyan & Kalashian, new species from East Turkey and Iran and G. (H.) schweigeri Ghrejyan, Kalashian & Sabatinelli, new species from Iran and Iraq, here described and illustrated. A key to Hemiglaphyrus species is provided. Atticoglaphyrus Ghrejyan, Kalashian & Sabatinelli, new subgenus is established for G. modestus Kiesenwetter, 1858 originally included in Hemiglaphyrus. Lectotypes of Glaphyrus caucasicus Kraatz, 1882 and Glaphyrus modestus Kiesenwetter, 1858 are designated.

CHECK LIST OF ARMENIAN APHIDS (HEMIPTERA: APHIDOMORPHA).

This paper presents a checklist of aphids of Armenia. Nowadays, 203 species of aphids belonging to 83 genera, 10 subfamilies, two families and two superfamilies are known, of which nine species are recognized in Armenia for the first time: Aphis cephalariae Barjadze, A. chloris Koch, A. solanella Theobald, A. urticata Gmelin, A. wellensteini (Brner), Brachyunguis harmalae Das, Macrosiphoniella millefolii (De Geer), Microlophium carnosum (Buckton), and Metopeurum buryatica (Pashtshenko). Twelve alien aphid species are cited in the paper.

Anchoscelis fuscomixta noravanka, a new subspecies from Armenia (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Noctuinae).

A new subspecies of the genus Anchoscelis Guene, 1839, Anchoscelis fuscomixta noravanka ssp. n. is described from south-west Armenia. The new subspecies belongs to the nominate subgenus of Anchoscelis and is similar, besides Anchoscelis fuscomixta (Gyulai L. Ronkay, 2006), to Anchoscelis pauli (Staudinger, 1892), Anchoscelis kindermanni (Fischer von Rslerstamm, 1839) and Anchoscelis consueta (Herrich-Schffer, 1852). Adults and male and female genitalia of the new subspecies and the similar taxa are illustrated. The habitat of the new subspecies is characterised and illustrated.

Notes on the fauna of the genus Dorcadion Dalman, 1817 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) of Kurdistan Province, Iran, with description of a new species.

Dorcadion (Cribridorcadion) darakiensis sp. nov. from Kurdistan Province, Iran, is described, illustrated and compared with a similar species: D. serouensis Kadlec, 2006 from western Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Distributional data on three other species of the genus are provided and represent first records for Kurdistan Province.

On the identity of Cyphonoxia maljuzhenkoi Zaitzev, 1928 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae).

The melolonthine species Cyphonoxia maljuzhenkoi Zaitzev, 1928 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Melolonthini) was described from three specimens collected by Dmitriy M. Maljuzhenko, a physician by profession, while he was working in the former Erivan Governorate from 1906 to at least 1914 (Anonymous 1914). Type series was cited by Zaitzev (1928) differently in the Russian and in German versions of the primary description. In the Russian version, Zaitzev stated on p. 393 in Cyrillic script: "Arm. Alishar u Araksa (3 ekz. Maljuzhenko, koll. Muz. Eriv. univ. i Muz. Gruzii)", while in the German version, he mentioned on p. 397: "Nachkraj: Alishar, distr. Sharur (3 ♀♀, dr. Maljuzhenko, Koll. d. Museen Georgien und Armenien)". At the time of collecting the type specimens (no later than 1914 when Maljuzhenko finished his collecting activity in the region (S.M. Iablokoff-Khnzorian, personal communication to M.K. in 1993)), the locality was a part of the Erivan Governorate of the Russian Empire. Currently, it is situated in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan.

A new species of Protaetia Burmeister, 1842 from Armenia with taxonomic notes on Cetonia floricola fausti Kraatz, 1891 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae).

The history of usage of the name Cetonia floricola fausti Kraatz, 1891 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) is discussed. In recent publications, the name Protaetia (Potosia) fausti was applied to a taxon that is not conspecific with Kraatz's holotype. We therefore reassign the name Cetonia fausti Kraatz, 1891 as a junior synonym of Protaetia splendidula (Faldermann, 1835) and discuss the justification for this synonymy. The taxon that was erroneously called Protaetia fausti in recent papers actually includes two distinct species: Protaetia jelineki (Petrovitz, 1981) and a species described in this paper as Protaetia (Potosia) haiastanica new species from northwestern and central Armenia and southwestern Georgia.

Karyotype analysis of four jewel-beetle species (Coleoptera, Buprestidae) detected by standard staining, C-banding, AgNOR-banding and CMA3/DAPI staining.

The male karyotypes of Acmaeodera pilosellae persica Mannerheim, 1837 with 2n=20 (18+neoXY), Sphenoptera scovitzii Faldermann, 1835 (2n=38-46), Dicerca aenea validiuscula Semenov, 1895 - 2n=20 (18+Xyp) and Sphaerobothris aghababiani Volkovitsh et Kalashian, 1998 - 2n=16 (14+Xyp) were studied using conventional staining and different chromosome banding techniques: C-banding, AgNOR-banding, as well as fluorochrome Chromomycin A3 (CMA3) and DAPI. It is shown that C-positive segments are weakly visible in all four species which indicates a small amount of constitutive heterochromatin (CH). There were no signals after DAPI staining and some positive signals were discovered using CMA3 staining demonstrating absence of AT-rich DNA and presence of GC-rich clusters of CH. Nucleolus organizing regions (NORs) were revealed using Ag-NOR technique; argentophilic material mostly coincides with positive signals obtained using CMA3 staining.