Abundance and frequency of ground beetles in three maize fields in Croatia

The study conducted from 2005 till 2006 on three maize field located in different regions of Croatia aimed to: a) determine Ground beetle fauna in three fields (located in three regions of Croatia), b) to establish differences in total number of identified species and c) to find possible differences in total number, abundance and frequency of the most abundant and frequent species among fields. The Ground beetle fauna was collected by using Pitfall traps through the whole growing season. The analyses of populations were done. The total number of identified species and/or genus was 18. The species Pterostichus (Morphnosoma) melanarius Illiger 1798 and Pseudoophonus (Pseudoophonus) rufipes De Geer 1774 were designated as the most abundant and frequent at all three localities. Additionally, the following species have been found: Poecilus (Poecilus) versicolor Sturm 1824, Poecilus (Poecilus) cupreus Linnaeus 1758 and Carabus (Eucarabus) ullrichii Germar 1824. Significantly higher number of species was recorded at locality Bankovci than at localities Zagreb and Tovarnik. Average number of P. rufipes collected at locality Zagreb, where herbicides were used more frequently, was significantly lower than at localities Bankovci and Tovarnik. The differences in abundances and frequencies of P. rufipes and P. melanarius among localities were not established.