Consortial associations of phytophagous beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomeloidea, Curculionoidea) with plants in the east of the Russian Plain

Complexes of phytophagous beetles of the superfamilies Chrysomeloidea and Curculionoidea associated with a number of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants in the east of the Russian Plain are described, and their characteristic features and origin are discussed. The consortia of most trees (comprising up to 70 species of phytophagous beetles) are dominated by polyphagous forms, while trophically specialized forms usually prevail in those of herbaceous plants (comprising up to 30 beetle species). The consortia of particular species (or groups of morphologically close species) of plants from large and ecologically diverse genera (Salix, Artemisia, Centaurea, Astragalus, Rorippa, Sisymbrium, Alyssum) exhibit considerable specificity which is manifested not only in the presence of regional monophages but also in specific composition of the oligophages and, occasionally, of the stenotopic polyphagous species. It is shown by a number of examples that the composition of the consortia of particular plant species is not uniform within the region, being the most diverse under the zonal and landscape-biotopic conditions that are optimal for the plants. Complexes of phytophagous beetles are usually considerably impoverished at the range boundaries of both arboreal and herbaceous plants, and also in the habitats not typical of these plants. The diversity of the beetle consortia associated with oak, elm, wormwoods, and astragals is sharply reduced from the forest-steppe to the southern taiga; by contrast, the diversity of beetles associated with willows somewhat decreases from the subboreal forest to the southern forest-steppe. © 2016, Pleiades Publishing, Inc.