Checkered beetles moths (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) — hazardous phytophags of arboreal and shrubby plants of botanical gardens and plantings of Kiev

Abstract

The purpose. To carry out probes on revealing and specification of species composition of checkered moths (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) in conditions of botanical gardens and plantings of Kiev. Methods. Standard methods of faunistic research in entomology, population ecology, and protection of plants. Results. It is determined that 24 kinds of checkered moths are eating 54 kinds of plants which are widely used for gardening in Kiev. For the first time the following kinds are revealed: Phyllonorycter issikii, Phyllonorycter platani, and Phyllonorycter emberizaepennella. At calculation of Palii-Kovnatski indexes they specified that in city plantings the dominant phytophags are Cameraria ohridella (94,11%), Phyllonorycter populifoliella (86,37%) and Gracillaria syringella (59,14%). They consider that in formation of the secondary areal of invasion kinds of checkered moths the great value has an areal of spread of the host-plant. Environmental analysis is carried out of checkered moths of family Gracillariidae which is spread in cities of the Europe and which are absent in fauna of cities of Ukraine. That has important theoretical and practical value for ecology, entomology and protection of plants against hazardous checkered moths. Conclusions. All the probed kinds of checkered moths by their trophic specialization may be distributed into polyphages (6 kinds), oligophages (14 kinds) and monophages (3 kinds).