RESEARCH OF FIREFLIES (COLEOPTERA: LAMPYRDAE) FAUNA IN CROATIA

Krijesnice (Lampyridae) su porodica kukaca koja pripada redu kornjaša (Coleoptera). Do danas je otkriveno više od 2000 vrsta širom svijeta. Specifične su zbog svoje sposobnosti da bioluminisciraju. Do sada nije postojao detaljan pregled vrsta koje možemo naći na području Republike Hrvatske, posebice u Slavoniji i stoga je cilj ovog istraživanja bilo utvrditi postojanje i upoznati se s faunom krijesnica ovog područja. Istraživanje je provedeno na 14 lokaliteta na području Republike Hrvatske, od kraja lipnja do početka kolovoza 2019. godine. Prikupljeno je ukupno 33 jedinke koje su svrstane u 5 vrsta, 3 roda i 2 potporodice. Za Republiku Hrvatsku utvrđena je prisutnost dvije nove vrste: Luciola lusitanica i Lampyris iberica. Nalaz vrste Lampyris iberica je važan zbog geografske distribucije ove vrste: do sada je pronađena samo na području Španjolske, Portugala i jugozapadne Francuske; na području Republike Hrvatske ovo je prvi zabilježeni pronalazak. Ovim istraživanjem su uspoređena i prirodna i urbana staništa na temelju prisutnosti krijesnica te je utvrđena značajna razlika među njima.The fireflies (Lampyridae) are a family of insects belonging to the order of the beetles (Coleoptera). To date, more than 2000 species have been discovered worldwide. They are specific for their bioluminescence. Until now, there has not been a detailed survey of the species that can be found in the territory of the Republic of Croatia, especially in Slavonia, and therefore the aim of this research was to determine the existence and to get acquainted with the fauna of the fireflies in this area. The research was conducted in 14 localities in the Republic of Croatia, from the end of June to the beginning of August 2019. A total of 33 individuals were collected and classified into 5 species, 3 genera and 2 subfamilies. For the Republic of Croatia, the presence of two new species has been established: Luciola lusitanica and Lampyris iberica. The finding of the Lampyris iberica species is important because of the geographical distribution of this species: it has so far been found only in Spain, Portugal and southwestern France; in the territory of the Republic of Croatia this is the first record. These studies compared both natural and urban habitats based on the presence of fireflies and found a significant difference between them