We present herein the first phylogenetic analysis of the genus Chelidura and the taxonomic revision of the genus Chelidurella, stat. restit., based on DNA sequences. The results confirm the generic status of Chelidurella
Verhoeff, 1902 and Mesochelidura
Verhoeff, 1902, and they are removed from the synonymy with Chelidura and reinstated as valid genera. Many individual Chelidurella species are defined based on the combination of a few variable characters on the pygidium and forceps, and the systematics and phylogeny of this genus are unclear. The validity of most of the species is revisited here by molecular phylogenetic analyses, and individual morphological characters are evaluated for their relevance in the identification of all described species. We describe two new species to science, Chelidurella galvagnii Kirstová & Kočárek, sp. nov. from Austria, and C. pseudovignai Kočárek & Kirstová, sp. nov. from Italy and Austria; two species, C. guentheri
Galvagni, 1994 and C. tatrica
Chládek, 2017 are newly synonymized. Critical diagnostic characters are illustrated, and an identification key for males of Chelidurella is provided.
Although earwigs (Dermaptera) may be important components of ecosystems because of their locally high abundance and omnivory, their vertical distribution among forest strata is poorly understood. This study used a mobile aerial lift platform to survey the spatiotemporal distribution of earwigs along the vertical dimension in a forest. In 2013 and 2014, 57 trees in a lowland floodplain forest were sampled in the southeastern Czech Republic, Central Europe. Earwigs were collected along the complete vertical gradient of the foliage of the trees using square beating sheets and exhaustors. Of the three recorded earwig species (Apterygida media, Chelidura acanthopygia and Forficula auricularia), A. media was the most abundant. The distribution of its abundance with the height from ground (in the tree leaf layer) was unimodal, with a peak at 4–10 m, indicating that A. media is arboricolous. The vertical stratification of A. media differed among developmental stages, and in its abundance among tree species. Investigation of insect vertical stratification in forests should be facilitated by the use of a mobile aerial lift platform.
The ecology of earwigs in natural forest ecosystems is poorly understood. We used sweeping to determine the population densities of adult earwigs, by sex and species, on ten tree species in a temperate floodplain forest in southern Moravia (Czech Republic). We also determined the relationships between the properties of tree species and earwig density and diet as indicated by digestive tract contents. The densities and diet composition of earwigs differed between the three detected earwig species [Apterygida media (Hagenbach, 1822), Chelidurella acanthopygia (Genè, 1832) and Forficula auricularia Linnaeus, 1758] and among tree species. Earwig densities were related to lichen coverage and fungal coverage on the trees. The diet of earwigs was associated with specific leaf area, herbivore damage to the leaves, and light exposure of the trees. A. media was the most abundant of the three earwig species. Although the contents of its digestive tract changed depending on available food resources, A. media appeared to preferentially consume soft-bodied insect herbivores and fungi associated with wounds caused by herbivores rather than plant material. Therefore, this species has the potential to help reduce the population densities of soft-bodied pests of forest trees.
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