The study of burdock blossoms (Asteraceae: Arctium) entomofauna in the Yelabuga District of the Republic of Tatarstan

The paper deals with the study of burdock blossoms (Asteraceae: Arctium) in the Yelabuga District of the Republic of Tatarstan where they are one of the most common species among the Compositae plants. They are mostly ruderal weeds, growing usually in waste places (abandoned orchards, wastelands, ravines, roadsides, river banks, dumps, walls of houses and fences, etc.). Some representatives of this genus are also found in the floodplain forests, sparse deciduous forests, clearings, forest edges. The paper presents some results of study of species composition and population structure of phytophagous insects, developing in inflorescences of four species of burdock (Arctium tomentozum, Arctium minus, Arctium lappa, Arctium nemorosum) on the territory of Yelabuga District of the Republic of Tatarstan. Seven experimental sites were examined, their total area is 1,0 hectares. The basic research was conducted during the spring-summer period in 2015–2017 at the time of active flowering plants. There were three kinds of flies-petrotrak (Diptera: Tephritidae), one kind of flies-Midge (in Russian spp.), one kind of beetle-weevil (Curculionidae) and one species of moth (Gelechiidae).