Abstracts of Volume 18 Number 3, 2007
Kanervo, J. & Várkonyi, G. 2007: Occurrence of Psocoptera in boreal oldgrowth forests. - Entomol. Fennica 18: 129-137.
We aim to assess habitat and host-tree preferences of psocids (Insecta: Psocoptera) sampled in old-growth-forest biodiversity studies conducted during 1997-2003 in central and southern Finland. Thirty-one out of the recognized sixty-nine Finnish species were found in the samples, four of which (Elipsocus abdominalis, Reuterella helvimacula, Stenopsocus lachlani and Trichadenotecnum majus) might be associated with old-growth forests or with old trees. Psocidus flavonimbatus, a rare taiga species only previously known from the 19th century holotype from Estonia, was repeatedly collected in Kuhmo region, eastern Central Finland. This species is possibly associated with boreal spruce-dominated old-growth forests and likely to prefer Norway spruce as a host tree. We also provide new distribution data for several species and discuss their host-tree preferences.