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LEAF BIODIVERSITY (COLEOPTERA, CHRYSoMeliDAe) on CentRAl MolDAViAn PlAteAU Calestru Livia Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of Moldova, Chisinau e-mail: lcalestru@yahoo .com belonging to the family Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera) play an impor- tant role in formation and functioning of ecosystems. Being almost all of them phytophagous species, larvae of leaf have usually an open lifestyle on host plant leaves. Many species in imago stage have more trophic connections than in the larva stage. The Moldovan central plateau is located in the central part of the country and covers an area of about 550 thousand hectares. This area is characterized by well-preserved broadleaf forests of middle European type, where the main forest forming species are the sessile oak, English oak, and beech forest. Currently, the fauna of leaf beetles on the Central Moldavian Plateau includes 101 species belonging to the following subfamilies: Donaciinae (1), Crioceri- nae (7), Orsodacninae (1), Clytrinae (8), (23), Eumolpinae (1), Chrysomelinae (31), Galerucinae (12), Hispinae (1), Cassidinae (16). It is necessary to note that in the Central Moldavian Plateau ecosystems, as compared to others in the country, there are created the best conditions for the conserva-tion of biodiversity not only for leaf beetles, but for all the entomofauna. Of the highlighted quantitative - the dominant species are Oulema melanopus (L.), Labidostomis longimana L., laeviuscula (Ratz.), Cryptocephalus lavipes F., C . sericeus L., C . hypochoeridis (L), C . bipunctatus (L.), Chrysolina fastuosa Scop., Ch . herbacea (Duft.), Galericella luteola Müll., Hypocassida subferrugi-nea (Schrnk.), Cassida viridis L. The core fauna of leaf beetles of Central Moldavian Plateau formed from dendrofile species that inhabit different trees and shrubs. However, the proximity to the northern and southern steppe area strongly influenced the composition of fauna. It is significant the presence of meadow and steppe species, especially of those mesophilic. The core fauna of leaf beetles in the central part of the Republic of Moldova is formed mainly of species from Transpalearctic and Holarctic areas. There are also largely represented European and Euro-Siberian species.

The study was performed within the project 11.817.08.16A financed by ASM.