Species composition and zoogeographical peculiarities of ground beetles were studied in agrocenosis of a wheat field in the Jēkabpils district, Dignāja parish (eastern Latvia). A total of 8,683 specimens of carabids representing 41 species and 14 genera were recorded. Poecilus cupreus L. (36.08%), P. versicolor Strum. (23.93%) and Harpalus rufipes Deg. (18.27%) were eudominants. The group of dominants consisted of Pterostichus melanarius Ill. (5.81%) and Carabus cancellatus Ill. (5.01%). The prevailing forms were open area species (53.66%), mesophilous species (46.34%) and small zoophages (46.34%). Palaearctic species (36.58%) were the dominant zoogeographical element. The trappability peaked in June. Rare carabid species were recorded: Poecilus punctulatus Schall. (1 specimen) and Pterostichus macer (Marsham, 1802) (1 specimen).

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During the Last Glacial Maximum in the Northern Hemisphere, expanding ice sheets forced a large number of plants, including trees, to retreat from their primary distribution areas. Many host-associated herbivores migrated along with their host plants. Long-lasting geographic isolation between glacial refugia could have been led to the allopatric speciation in separated populations. Here, we have studied whether the migration history of the Norway spruce Picea abies in Quaternary has affected its host-associated herbivorous beetle—Monochamus sartor. By using microsatellite markers accompanied by the geometric morphometrics analysis of wing venation, we have revealed the clear geographic structure of M. sartor in Eurasia, encompassing two main clusters: southern (Alpine–Carpathian) and eastern (including northeastern Europe and Asia), which reflects the northern and southern ecotypes of its host. The two beetles’ lineages probably diverged during the Pleniglacial (57,000—15,000 BC) when their host tree species was undergoing significant range fragmentation and experienced secondary contact during post-glacial recolonization of spruce in the Holocene. A secondary contact of divergent lineages of M. sartor has resulted in the formation of the hybrid zone in northeastern Europe. Our findings suggest that the climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene have driven an insect-plant co-evolutionary process, and have contributed to the formation of the unique biodiversity of Europe.

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