 |
SEPG 2181 - Date Awarded 2003
Altitudinal trends in body colouration of leaf beetle Oreina sulcata Gebl.: the significance of incident solar radiation
Yuri E. Mikhailov
Introduction (excerpt)
The leaf beetle Oreina sulcata Gebler (= basilea Gebler) is common and abundant in the mountains of South Siberia. It inhabits Altai, the Sayans, mountains of Tuva, Northern Mongolia, Cisbaikalia and partly Transbaikalia having the isolated lowland populations in the Yenisei river valley and in Tyumen region far away from the main distribution area (Mikhailov 2000). O. sulcata is specifically associated with tall herbage in montane forest clearings and subalpine meadows.
O. sulcata has a wide range of colour morphs with different names given by different authors (Kreslavskiy 1975; Dolgin 1978; Bontems 2001; Mikhailov 2001). The whole spectrum of colour morphs has not been uniformly treated so far but two types of trends in the body colouration were reported. The geographical variation shows itself as the change of dominating colour morphs in the high mountains of different parts of its distribution area. In general, according to Kreslavskiy (1975), in the Western Altai blue beetles are abundant on high altitudes while in some regions in the eastern part red beetles are dominating.
Full report: SEPG2181
|
Home
