PNRP 39(2) – 2020 r.

Comments on the distribution and the biology
of the Mediterranean Fritillary Argynnis (Pandoriana) pandora
(Denis et Schiffermüller, 1775) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Poland

SUMMARY

Argynnis pandora is a magnificent representative of the Nymphalidae family, occurring from Western Europe and North Africa to the countries of Central Asia, India and China. In Poland, this species is rarely recorded and so far considered a migrant from the south. This paper presents a review of all previously known observations of A. pandora in our country, and presents new data from 2019. A spatial analysis of currently known A. pandora sites in Poland was performed: in total, the species has been observed in six mesoregions: the Western Bieszczady Mts., the Low Beskid Mts., the Dynów Foothills, the Podtatrzański Ditch, the Krakow Bridge and the Łask Upland, but the current observations (after 2000) only refer to the first three mesoregions. In connection with the repeated observations over recent years of A. pandora in the borderland mountain range from the Western Bieszczady Mts. to the Low Beskid Mts. and in the Dynów Foothills, two areas of probable permanent species populations in south-eastern Poland have been selected. In addition, based on precise observations of the appearance dates of A. pandora butterflies from 1994-2019, the phenology of the appearance of the species in south-eastern Poland was determined - the species appears in one generation from the third ten days of June to the first ten days of September, and the extreme dates of appearance are June 27 and 05 September. Due to the increasing likelihood of settled populations of A. pandora in south-eastern Poland, it was proposed to consider including this species in one of the forms of legal protection available in our country, mainly due to the danger of catching attractive examples by collectors and insect dealers.

Materials to the knowledge of aculeates (Hymenoptera: Aculeata)
of the "Ujście Warty" National Park. Bees (Apoidea: Anthophila)

SUMMARY

The paper presents information about the fauna of bees (Hymenoptera, Aculeata: Anthophila) in the "Ujście Warty" National Park in Western Poland. The specimens were collected using an entomological net and Moericke's traps in 2012. The research was carried out on 21 locations grouped into 6 types of habitat: related to embankments (2), related to polder and floodplains (2) and xerothermic sandy areas (2).
Altogether, data on about 505 specimens were collected, representing 98 species of bees. This number includes 17 species protected by law and 5 present on the Red List.
A large part of the park is flooded every year, or it has a high level of groundwater. For this reason, finding 98 species of bees in this area is a good result. The fauna of the northern embankment along the Warta River should be considered as the most typical one, which means that it is largely isolated by the river and flooded and wet areas.
The number of species in the Park (but not the nature of the fauna) is determined by two kserotermic sites: Mościczkowa Górka on the northern side (49 species) and Czarnowska Górka on the southern side (41 species). The list of these two sites only includes 67 (68.4%) species of the Park. Were it not for these sites, bee fauna would decrease by 32 (32.6%) species to 66 (67.4%).
Bumblebees (Bombus s. str.) should be considered as the most valuable in the bee fauna. 16 species from a relatively small area is a very good result. Particularly noteworthy is Bombus confusus with the VU category on the Red List, as well as generally infrequent B. humilis, B. veteranus, B. soroeensis and B. jonellus. Other rare species of unrecognized status and placed on the Red List are: Hylaeus gredleri, H. moricei, Lasioglossum minutulum and L. semilucens, that use scraps of appropriate habitats in a generally unfavourable environment.

Natural reconstruction of the weatherfish (Misgurnus fossilis) population
in the "Pradolina Bzury-Neru" after the drought of 2015

SUMMARY

The study presents an assessment of the possible reconstruction and its rate in the case of the weatherfish (Misgurnus fossilis) population in an artificial drainage canal in the Natura 2000 area of Pradolina Bzury-Neru after the occurrence of a hydrological drought. Potential sources of colonizers were determined. The physical and chemical conditions of the water favouring the process of weatherfish rehabilitation were analysed. The study was carried out at 9 site designated in the artificial Kanał Południowy canal, which was inspected a total of 14 times in the period before (August 2014, May 2015), during (August 2015) and after the drought (November, December 2015 and from March to October 2016). At each sample site, the physical and chemical parameters of the water (dissolved oxygen concentration, oxygen saturation, pH, conductivity, temperature) were measured, following the fish capture, individual weight and total body length were measured after which all specimens were released at the capture site. The density of the observed fish species was calculated, as well as the differences in the total body length of weatherfish caught in different periods. The study has shown that within a year after the reappearance of the water, the watercourse was inhabited by 15 fish species and the most common taxa were: roach (Rutilus rutilus) and pike (Esox lucius). The recolonization rate depended on the species and the observed maximum weatherfish density reached a value of 0.0019 individuals × m^-2. The main source of colonizers was the Bzura River. The physical and chemical parameters of the water did not play a significant role in the reconstruction of the weatherfish population.

SHORT FLORISTIC, FAUNISTIC AND MICOBIOTIC NOTES

New location of five endangered lichen species in Podlasie
(north-eastern Poland)

SUMMARY

The paper presents a new location of five endangered lichens in Podlasie (north-eastern Poland). The author noted numerous thalluses (juvenile and mature) of the following species: Bryoria fuscescens, Flavoparmelia caperata, Hypogymnia tubulosa, Usnea hirta and Vulpicida pinastri, on a 71 m wooden fence of the forest plot. The protected and endangered taxa were found in the Cladonio-Pinetum community, near the open area of arable fields.

A site of the smooth snake Coronella austriaca
in the buffer zone of the Magurski National Park

SUMMARY

In the area near Polany village, which is located in the buffer zone of Magurski National Park, Podkaprackie Province, a site of a smooth sake Coronella austriaca was detected. The first observation took place in 2014. During the monitoring conducted in 2019, the presence of 7 adults and 1 juvenile specimen of this snake species was detected. Road mortality seems to be the major threat for the population of Coronella austraica from Polany village. No threat from a potential habitat change was recognised.

CHRONICLE

Third nature museum in Białowieża

SUMMARY

The article introduces the activities of the Białowieża National Park Nature and Forest Museum, which operated in Białowieża from mid-January 1937 to the end of November 1971. It was the third institution of this type in the Białowieża Forest. The exhibition was based on items exhibited in the Tsar's Palace in Białowieża until 1936. The total area of the museum was 546.26 m², while the two exhibition halls occupied 470 m². In the larger hall, four museum departments were organized, which presented: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates and former forestry beekeeping. A botanical department was set up in a smaller room. A preparation room and a library functioned at the museum. The museum associated with the National Park was at that time subordinated directly to the Reserve Department of the State Forests Research Institute. It mainly played a didactic role, but also gathered evidence collections of plants and animals from the Białowieża Forest. The facility also operated during the Second World War. During this period, part of the collection was destroyed or stolen. The museum resumed its work in the spring of 1946. Until July 1950, it was under a branch of the IBL in Białowieża, then it came under the management of the Białowieża National Park. At that time, the facility changed its name from the Forest Museum of Nature to the Museum of Nature and Forest of the Białowieża National Park. A damaged bee-keeping department was restored, a new botanical department was established, animal and plant collections were systematically supplemented, and a preparation room was opened. The library began to be created again, as its collection was taken over by IBL. The museum also presented exhibits at temporary exhibitions organized outside Białowieża. In 1960, due to a planned visit to the Białowieża National Park of participants in the Warsaw debates of the 7th General Assembly of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and its Resources, the interior was rebuilt, and the current exhibition was changed. The new museum exhibition was housed in three rooms with a total area of ​​350 m². Geographic, botanical-typological, zoological, former hunting weapons and forestry beasts were arranged. Although the restored exhibition gained in appearance and readability, the number of exhibited specimens was reduced. The museum curators were Jan Jerzy Karpiński, Edmund Wagner, Stefan Roguski and Czesław Okołów. In 1937-1939, the museum was visited by over 120,000 people, while in the post-war period (1946-1971) there were nearly 897,000 visitors.

Unknown testimony to the beginning
of the reintroduction of bears in the Białowieża Forest

SUMMARY

The article presents documents found in the collection of the correspondence of Janusz Domaniewski, an outstanding zoologist and nature protection activist, at the Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, regarding the reintroduction of brown bears in the Białowieża Primeval Forest. A letter from the Experimental Department of the State Forests and Domaniewski's answer from 1932 allows the dating of the beginnings of the reintroduction. In the correspondence the issues of bears that were to be used for reintroduction were raised. Domaniewski was in favour of using wild animals, not tame, as well as those closest genetically to the historical population of bears from the Białowieża Primeval Forest. He opposed bringing bears from the Carpathians, considering them very different from the lowland population of north-eastern Poland. He also advised on the way and the most appropriate time of year to release these animals, as well as their possible feeding in the first period of reintroduction. The documents are a very valuable source for the history of zoology and Białowieża Primeval Forest, providing new information on the world's first reintroduction of large predator motivated by ecological, not hunting means.