Quaternary insects and their significance for zoogeography, paleoclimatology and paleoecology

The present thesis is a review of available published data on Quaternary insects. Research focused on Quaternary insects has been so far overlooked by the Czech scientists, even though there is potential to provide additional data for complex reconstruction of Quaternary deposits. Insect faunas allow to trace the dynamic development of areas across continents and serve for example as proof of migration routes. It is especially true for the Pleistocene, well known for prominent climatic oscillations. Thus, the insect species served as climatic indicators allowing estimations of average temperatures by application of the MCR method. Finally, these faunal changes reflect dynamic development of palaeoenvironments. The fact that the subfossil taxa correspond to the recent species allows broader reconstruction of the Quaternary deposits.