Search

Seasonal activity and reproductive phenology of six forest‐inhabiting, common New Zealand endemic carabid beetles, Zolus cf. femoralis Broun, Holcaspis mucronata Broun, Megadromus capito (White), Megadromus turgidiceps (Broun), Plocamosthetus planiusculus (White), and Ctenognathus adamsi Broun, were studied by pitfall trapping, ageing, and dissecting of females. Beetles were collected from forest fragments in the Manawatu region, North Island, in 1990–92 and 1999–2000. Two distinct activity periods were distinguished, in the (austral) spring (August‐September) and in late summer‐autumn (January‐April). Five species collected were reproductively active in both seasons, although no teneral beetles were found in spring. A sixth species, M. turgidiceps was active on the soil surface only in autumn. Results from ageing suggested that the larger species in the tribe Pterostichini lived longer than 1 year and could reproduce more than once.

Pollen feeding by adult hoverflies of Melanostoma fasciatum, collected from organic paddocks at Flock House, Bulls, North Island, New Zealand, were studied by dissection. Up to six different pollen types were found in one hoverfly. On average, they fed only on 2.71 pollen species. 71% of gravid females but only 13% of males reached the maximum score (scale 0–5) for pollen content in the gut. Very few hoverflies had no pollen. Of the 15 identified pollen groups, plantain, phacelia, coriander, and graminaceous pollen were consumed in large quantities by gravid females. Differences in feeding spectra between sexes probably reflected the need for energy in males and for the protein required for egg maturation in females. Earlier views of strict preference for anemophilous pollen by M. fasciatum cannot be upheld.

45 Wrynecks were ringed on the souhern Italian island, Vivara, between 1977 and 1984. Birds arrived at the island in September, the spring migration took place in March‐April. Several birds wintered on Vivara; six of them returned to the island in the following year and three of these returned a third winter. Birds ringed later during winter seemed more likely to return the next year. Spring migrants had longer wings than birds caught during winter. Some of the former showed very low weights (min. 26.4 g), probably indicating a long flight before capture. Birds did not seem to use the island as a refuelling site.

892 Blackcaps were ringed on a southern Italian island, Vivara (40°45'N, 13°58'E) near Naples, between October 1977 and December 1983, and morphological data were taken from the 569 birds caught between January 1980 and August 1983. The autumn migration peaked in October and November while the spring migration was mainly the return of local breeding birds. Mean monthly sex ratio was 0.51 (S.D. = 0.1); inequalities were found only in March (20 males vs. 9 females). Wing lengths of both sexes were significantly shorter during the breeding season than in winter due to the influx of longer‐winged migrants at the latter season. Males migrated earlier than females. An analysis of the recaptures indicated three groups of birds: a) autumn migrants with no recaptures (not even the next day after ringing; b) a small wintering group with recaptures of up to two months after ringing; c) breeders, recaptured several times, in the same and later years. Breeding birds left the island in September. No autumn‐ringed bird ...