Carabids (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in strawberry plantations on brown soils

The present study on species composition and structure of carabid communities occurring on brown soil in strawberry plantations was carried out in period 1990-1993 and covered four permanent experimental plots. A total of 13787 specimens belonging to 49 species were captured. Particular plots differed significantly in the number of captured specimens but not - in the number of species recorded. The following species were found to be eudominants: Harpalus rufipes, with the mean (average from four plots) share equal 30.3%; Pterostichus melanarius (12.6%) and Calathus fuscipes(10.5%). The group of dominants consisted of: Poecilus cupreus (9.1 %), Poecilus versicolor (6.4%) and Broscus cephalotes (5.3%). The trapability peaked in all plots in August, regardless the year of study. The variability in number of specimens captured in particular years was insignificant, while the number of species caught varied significantly between years. Besides, a significant correlation was found between the plant protection agents used and the number of captured specimens.