The beetle fauna (Coleoptera) of the arctic mainland of Norway

Abstract

This paper is the first attempt to summarize the beetles present in the arctic region of the mainland of Norway since 1946. In 1995 and 1998 beetles were collected by pitfall traps and other methods in Vardø municipality on the Varanger Peninsula in Finnmark county. This area is part of the small section of the Norwegian mainland that belongs to the southern arctic vegetation zone. A total number of 159 species from 18 families were recorded, including earlier findings by others. This probably covers a substantial part of the beetle fauna present in this marginal environment. Rove beetles (Staphylinidae) are the most abundant group and made up 46% of the recorded species, whereas diving beetles (Dytiscidae) and ground beetles (Carabidae) made up 16% and 15% of the species, respectively. Considering the regional distribution of these species in Norway, 8% are found only in northern Norway (Nordland/Troms/Finnmark), 19% have mainly an alpine distribution, 27% are mainly restricted to boreal areas, whereas 53% are common all over Norway. Diacheila polita and Simplocaria elongata belong to a characteristic arctic beetle community, and the present records of these two species are the only ones from Scandinavia. The study indicates that there are very few beetles that belong entirely to the arctic mainland of Norway.