Myrmecophilous beetles

The aim of this article is to investigate the species composition, ecological characteristics and myrmecophily Coleoptera dominant structure in nests of ants of the species Formica rufa Linnaeus, 1761 in the territory of the Saratov region. The studies were conducted mainly in the natural Park of Kumis Polyana (Saratov) and the National Park “Khvalynskiy”. To collect material were determined using standard soil methods of Zoology: screening of the substrate from the nests of ants and laboratory analysis of selected samples.

In the article was given the mathematical approaches to classification and clustering of data of acoustic signals in communication between myrmecophilic beetles (Scydmaenus hellwigii) and ants (Formica rufa). For the first time for these species were used a cluster analysis which revealed four clusters, each of them has its own command from the beetle to the ant. Each command was defined by specific ranges of dominant frequencies and a range of medium amplitudes (the values of the parameters R).