Tom 65 (2016): Zeszyt 3 (December 2016)

The generic name Dorcadion Adans. ex Lindb. is a superfluous and illegitimate name for Orthotrichum Hedw. The new generic name Dorcadionella Plášek, Sawicki & Ochyra is proposed for a segregate of Orthotrichum which comprises species with superficial stomata that are always monoicous and only occasionally produce gemmae on leaves. Dorcadionella affinis (Schrad. ex Brid.) Plášek, Sawicki & Ochyra is selected as a type of this new generic name. The genus Dorcadionella consists of 63 species and one variety that have a worldwide distribution. Traditionally, they were all placed in Orthotrichum and the relevant transfers to the new genus are effected in the present account.

New records of Anthomyzidae (Diptera) from the Iturup Island (Kuril archipelago, Far Eastern Russia) are presented based on the material collected by the expedition to this island in 2011. Five species of Anthomyza are recorded, including three species new to the local dipterous fauna, viz. A. collini Andersson, 1976, A. elbergi Andersson, 1976 and A. flavosterna Sueyoshi & Roháček, 2003; moreover, A. collini is recorded from the E. Palaearctic region for the first time. Distribution and biology are reviewed for each of the seven species of Anthomyzidae known from the Iturup I. with the new information obtained. Biodiversity of Anthomyzidae in the Iturup I. is discussed with respect to the faunas known from adjacent areas.

The paper presents two new records of alien Gypsophila perfoliata in Poland. It was found on 16 September 2016 in Bodzanów and Łapczyca, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland, growing on roadside slopes and in roadside ditch. The updated map of distribution is presented using the ATPOL cartogram method, and the pathways of introduction and spreading are discussed.

Two Oxycera species are reported from Czech Republic from the vicinity of Prague. Oxycera germanica (Szilády, 1932) is recorded from Czech Republic for the second time and Oxycera nigricornis Olivier, 1812 is reported from Bohemia for the first time. Their distribution, history of the records in Czech Republic and basic diagnostic characters are provided.

A species inventory of Diptera from the families Empididae and Hybotidae from 5 selected Sites of Community Importance in the Pieniny Mts. (Slovakia) is presented. The checklist comprises 43 taxa (34 taxa of the family Empididae and 9 species of the family Hybotidae), including first records of Empis (E.) ciliatopennata Strobl, 1893 and Hilara curtisi Collin, 1927 for the territory of Slovakia. The species-richness of the empidid fauna in Slovakia is increased to 285 species by this paper.

During the years 2002-2010, distribution and numbers of eight bird species were studied in the whole city of Wrocław, SW Poland (293 km²). The estimation for these species are as follow: Streptopelia turtur: 3 breeding pairs, Upupa epops: 1, Cuculus canorus: 49, Emberiza hortulana: 7, Luscinia megarhynchos: 214-286, Phoenicurus phoenicurus: 87-118, Turdus pilaris: 105-150, Hippolais icterina: 136-181. In comparison with 1980‘s and 1990’s, a rapid increase in the numbers P. phoenicurus, and T. pilaris, and a slight increase of L. megarhynchos and Cuculus canorus were documented. T. pilaris began to breed in the city in the end of 1990‘s. The increase may indicate that the habitats in Wrocław improved both in regard to food availability, nesting sites and other environmental requisitions. The increase in the numbers recorded for C. canorus, P. phoe-nicurus, and L. megarhynchos may also be a result of good conditions prevailing in their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa.

Mosses as biomonitors of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition were collected from 41 locations in the Moravian Silesian borderlands. Total N concentrations were determined via elemental analysis. Site-specific and local factors were investigated using geostatistical and statistical analyses at a local scale. To assess the correlation between moss N concentrations and chosen factors, Spearman Rank Correlation Analysis was used. Then Exploratory Regression was applied in order to find the factors explaining the spatial distribution pattern of N concentrations. The correlation analysis for the chosen factors showed the strongest correlation between the total N concentrations in mosses and the 7-day precipitation (r_s = -0.54), the Forested land use within 0.5 km radius around the site (r_s = -0.33) and the Agricultural land use within 0.5 km radius around the site and 1 km respectively (r_s = 0.34 and r_s = 0.31). The accurate regression model comprised four factors: the 7-day precipitation, the 3-month precipitation, Forested land use within 0.5 km radius and Agricultural land use within 0.5 km radius around the site, with calculated adjusted R-squared = 0.49. Analyses also identified the dependence of the total N concentration on the moss species but the statistical data set is considered too small to make further conclusions.

The study analyzed caryopses of barley (Hordeum vulgare) cv. Stratus. Caryopses were germinated in darkness at 20°C in three experimental setups: (a) in distilled water for 24 hours, followed by 100 mM NaCl for another 24 hours (salinity stress, SS), (b) in 100 μM of abscisic acid for the first 24 hours, followed by rinsing with distilled water to remove residual ABA, and in 100 mM NaCl for another 24 hours (ABA pretreatment + salinity stress, ABAS), (c) in distilled water only (control, C). Changes in the content of free polysomes (FP), membrane-bound polysomes (MBP), cytoskeleton-bound polysomes (CBP) and cytomatrix-bound polysomes (CMBP) were examined in barley sprouts germinated in SS and ABAS treatments for 48 hours. In salt-stressed barley sprouts, the concentrations of membrane-bound and cytoskeleton-bound polysomes (MBP, CBP and CMBP) decreased significantly, whereas an increase was noted only in the free polysome (FP) fraction. ABA pretreatment altered the distribution of polysomes in stressed plants. The content of cytoskeletonbound polysomes (CBP and CMBP) increased, FP levels decreased, whereas no changes in MBP content were observed in response to ABA treatment. Our results suggest that plants respond to salt stress by increasing the concentrations of free polysomes that are probably released from damaged cell structures, mainly membranes. Our present and previous findings indicate that ABA could inhibit the release of FP in stressed plants by enhancing polysome binding to the cytoskeleton.

Linhart‘s thermosolar hive was tested on its efficiency in suppressing the mite Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman 2000 in honey bee colonies. It has been experimentally verified that thermotherapy is highly effective in suppressing Varroa destructor. When the temperature of the brood chamber is allowed to reach and is maintained at 40 - 47 °C (104 - 116,6 °F) over a period of 2.5 hours, mortality of the mites in the sealed brood is virtually absolute, whereas bee brood withstands this temperature unharmed. Since thermotherapy is carried out with an open entrance, it is advisable to repeat the heating treatment cycle in order to achieve a highly effective elimination of the mites throughout the entire bee colony. The second treatment should be conducted after the remaining mites, which were carried by adult bees not present in the hive during the initial thermotherapy, transferred back to the brood. This occurs about 10 - 12 days after the first treatment.

A melandryid beetle, Osphya brusteli sp. nov. from the Balkan Peninsula (Greece and Macedonia) is described and illustrated.

The paper presents descriptions of two new taxa, Stipa ×brevicallosa var. hissarensis and Stipa orientalis var. ladakhorum. Both of them differ from the nominal varieties in having densely pubescent (not glabrous or scabrous) leaves of vegetative shoots. First of the above mentioned taxa occurs in Tajikistan (Pamir Alai Mts) whereas the second in India (Western Himalayas). Images of type specimens of both taxa are provided.

The paper presents two new records of Symphyotrichum ciliatum in Poland with information on its population size and habitat. Distribution map of the species in Poland based on the ATPOL cartogram method is provided.