Beetles (Coleoptera) in deciduous dead wood tree species trunks in Lithuania

Abstract

We present a list of beetles that emerged from wind-felled tree trunks of several tree species, including European ash (Fraxinus excelsior), aspen (Populus tremula), common oak (Quercus robur), birch (Betula sp.), small-leaved linden (Tilia cordata) and black alder (Alnus glutinosa). Four hundred and ninety species and 60 families of beetles were collected using trunk-emergence type traps. We found 440 beetle species that had previously been recorded from dead wood; the remaining 50 were newly discovered and all were considered as not directly associated with dead wood. Common oak trunks had the highest diversity of beetles, with approximately 42% of the identified beetle species found in our research. Of all the beetle species identified in the study, about half are saproxylic, while the remaining are considered as not having direct association with dead wood. The results of the study emphasise the importance of dead wood in maintaining beetle diversity in Lithuanian forests. This study provides a valuable baseline for future research on beetles in dead wood in Lithuania and may help to provide information for conservation efforts to protect these important habitats.