© Entomologica Fennica. 10 September 2019 Sphaeroceridae (Diptera) in burrows of rabbit and fox in central Bohemia (Czech Republic), with description of a new species of Minilimosina Roháèek Jindøich Roháèek Roháèek, J. 2019: Sphaeroceridae (Diptera) in burrows ofrabbit and foxin cen - tral Bohemia (Czech Republic), with description ofa new species of Minilimo- sina Roháèek. Entomol. Fennica 30: 97113. https://doi.org/10.33338/ ef.84085 The communities ofSphaeroceridae in burrows ofEuropean Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus and Red Fox Vulpes vulpes in central Bohemia (the Czech Republic) are described including number, dominance and constancy ofspecies and com - pared by means ofa similarity index. A total of17 species were recorded from burrows ofrabbit and 9 fromthose offox. Spelobia talparum (Richards, 1927) and S. pseudonivalis (Dahl, 1909) are considered pholeobiont (= eucoenic) and Spelobia czizeki (Duda, 1918) pholeophilous to pholeobiont species in this habi- tat. Comparison ofthese two communities with those recorded fromother mam- mal subterraneous habitats in Europe revealed that most similar are those from the same locality irrespective ofthe host mammal species or the size ofthe bur- row. The species spectrum ofEuropean Sphaeroceridae recorded from mammal burrows is reviewed and discussed. Minilimosina (Minilimosina) speluncana sp. n. is described on males found in rabbit burrow and its relationship and habitat as- sociation are discussed. J. Roháèek, Silesian Museum, Nádraní okruh 31, CZ-746 01 Opava, Czech Re- public. E-mail: [email protected] Received 3 April 2018, accepted 28 June 2018 1. Introduction undoubtedly inhabited by a rich dipterous com- munity, there are very few reliable data because While the communities offlies(Diptera), includ - most, particularly older, studies were mainly de- ing regularly representatives ofthe family voted to beetles (Coleoptera) and the dipterous Sphaeroceridae, have previously been rather of- component was partly or wholly neglected. For ten studied in nests and runs ofsmall mammals in example, Falcoz (1915) recorded only a few flies Europe (Falcoz 1915, 1921, Richards 1930, Da- from rabbit and badger burrows but no Aca- vis 1934, Hackman 1963a, b, 1965, 1967, Bau- lyptrate Diptera (including Sphaeroceridae). mann 1977, Vysotskaya 1978, 1981, Roháèek More detailed information on Diptera in this hab- 1984, Krivokhatsky 1989, Krivokhatsky & itat was provided by British authors, particularly Nartshuk 2007, Hutson 2010) those living in bur- on flies in rabbit and badger burrows while data rows and tunnels oflarger mammals, such as rab - from burrows of fox remain extremely scarce. bit, fox and badger, have hitherto received little Richards (1930) processed material ofSphaero - attention. Although also these large burrows are ceridae collected by him in rabbit burrows in 98 Roháèek ENTOMOL. FENNICA Vol. 30 Fig. 1. – a. Position of the Nymburk town in Europe. – b. Aerial view of the Nymburk vicinity with localities of this study. Sources: Fauna Europaea (a) and https://mapy.cz (b). England and presented his results including clas- burrows ofEuropean Badger ( Meles meles (Lin- sificationofassociation ofrecorded species with naeus, 1758)) has been studied more recently in this subterraneous habitat. Britain (Payne 1979, 1982, Hancox 1988) and However, by far the largest amount of data on Ireland (Sleeman & Bond 2003) but also these flies (including numerous Sphaeroceridae) in studies recorded only a few species of Sphaero- nests and burrows (including those ofrabbit and ceridae. fox) was obtained by E. B. Basden in the years This paper is devoted to results ofanalysis ofa 19311935 (see Rotheray 1989), but a great deal relatively small but interesting material ofSphae - ofthem remained unpublished until Rotheray roceridae collected by the Czech coleopterist L. (1991) summarized his results. The latter study is Danìk in burrows ofEuropean Rabbit ( Orycto- the most detailed source ofknowledge of lagus cuniculus (Linnaeus, 1758)) and Red Fox Sphaeroceridae (and other Diptera) occurring in (Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758)) in the vicinity rabbit burrows while it contains only a single re- ofNymburk in Central Bohemia (the Czech Re - cord from fox burrows. Okely (1974) obtained public) in the 1990s. The communities of puparia ofSphaeroceridae by placing a breeding Sphaeroceridae found in these subterranean habi- substrate (boiled grass cuttings) in open plastic tats in this locality are described and compared containers in the burrow tunnels ofrabbits. mutually and with those known from rabbit bur- However, it is not clear from her paper on rows from Great Britain (Richards 1930, Okely (only) previously undescribed puparia which 1974, Rotheray 1991) but also with those re- other species she also reared from this habitat. corded from runs and nests of other small mam- Nevertheless, it is probable that except for Spelo- mals throughout Europe. Because, surprisingly, a bia parapusio (Dahl, 1909) (which she reared new species ofthe subgenus Minilimosina from decayed fungi) all other listed species origi- (Minilimosina) Roháèek, 1983 was found among nated from rabbit burrows. The dipterous fauna in specimens from rabbit burrows, it is described in ENTOMOL. FENNICA Vol. 30 Sphaeroceridae in burrows of rabbit and fox 99 full here to make its name available as an addi- ture beetles. The traps were exposed for a week or tional member ofthe assemblage ofmicro - less. The dates on labels are those when traps cavernicolous Sphaeroceridae. were emptied. Only a few specimens were hand- collected in burrows by means ofa pooter (aspira - tor) (information obtained from the collector). 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Material 2.4. Methods ofspecies community analyses The Sphaeroceridae examined comprise 18 The structure and comparison ofcommunities in samples (229 specimens) from burrows of Euro- both types ofburrows (i.e. those offoxand rabbit) pean Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and 13 were expressed by means ofthe simple quantita - samples (212 specimens) from burrows of Red tive characters: 1) the number ofspecies, 2) the Fox (Vulpes vulpes). All specimens were origi- species abundance (n), dominance (D) and con- nally preserved in 80% ethanol but a few speci- stancy (C) and 3) index ofsimilarity (S). Detailed mens were dried and mounted on pinned triangu- methods and formulae have been given by lar cards or transferred to glycerine in the course Spelleberg (1991) and Begon et al. (1996). ofthis study. The material, including type speci - The dominance ofindividual species is ex - mens ofthe new species, is deposited in the pressed as: D =N / N. 100 (%), where N = the to- i i Silesian Museum, Opava, Czech Republic tal number ofspecimens, N = number ofspeci- i (SMOC). mens ofi th species. In line with Spelleberg (1991) and Begon et al. (1996), the species with D ³ 10% have been considered eudominant, those with D = 2.2. Localities 510% dominant, those with D = 25% subdomi- nant, those with D = 12% recedent and those All specimens were collected by the Czech ama- with D £ 1% subrecedent. teur coleopterist L. Danìk in the environment of The constancy is the percentage ofsamples in the town Nymburk in Central Bohemia, the which the species occurred, out ofthe total num- Czech Republic (Fig. 1a) in 19951999. The ma- ber ofstudied samples: C = S / S × 100 (%), s jority ofthem (possibly all, but in a number of where S = the total number ofsamples frombur- samples the precise site is not specified) originate rows, S = the number ofsamples in which the s from two forested areas in the close vicinity of species was found. Species with 50 £ C < 75 have Nymburk called Zátií (about 2.5 km SW from been considered as constant, those with C ³ 75 as Nymburk town centre, 50°1013N, 15°01 euconstant. 07E, ca 195 m a. s. l.) and Babín (about 2 km E Index ofsimilarity: S = 2C/A+B. 100 (%), from Nymburk town centre, 50°1106N, where A = number ofspecies foundin burrows of 15°0417E, ca 190 m a. s. l.), see Fig. 1b. Only first host species, B = number of species found in one specimen was collected in (a fox burrow) the burrows ofsecond host species and C = number locality Nymburk-Dvory (about 4.5 km NW ofspecies occurring simultaneously in both types from Nymburk town centre, 50°1243N, ofburrow (A and B). 14°5935E, ca 190 m a. s. l., not in the map in Fig. 1b). 2.5. The assessment of the affinity ofspecies to mammal burrows 2.3. Collecting methods The affinity of individual species to mammal bur- The majority ofspecimens was captured by rows has been Judged according to the knowledge means ofunbaited pitfalltraps (small jars with oftheir biology, autecology and distribution. The ethylene glycol or glycerine) installed in the en- classification system proposed long ago by Fal- trance part ofburrows, originally aimed to cap - coz (1915: 70) is followed but it is expanded by 100 Roháèek ENTOMOL. FENNICA Vol. 30 Fig. 2. Minilimosina (M.) speluncana sp. n., male paratype, wing (length ca 1.4 mm). an additional category (coeno-neutral, thus simi- ual ofPalaearctic Diptera (Roháèek 1998). No - larly as originally proposed by Roháèek & Máca menclature follows that used in Roháèek et al. (1982) for species living in peat-bogs). There- (2001) and Marshall et al. (2011). fore, four categories are differentiated according to the degree ofspecies association with microcavernicolous habitats: 2.7. Presentation ofmaterial data Pholeobiont (species preferably to exclu- For each species specimens from rabbit and fox sively associated with