Specific manifestations of polyvariant life cycles in ground beetles (Coleoptera and Carabidae) along a latitudinal gradient

It is shown that in Carabidae, 25 variants of life cycles occur in the European part of Russia (from semideserts to continental tundras). It has been found that a sharp decrease (by more than half) in the lifecycle spectrum is observed upon transition from nemoral to taiga communities, and its phenological unification takes place at high latitudes. It has been established that the greatest proportion of species with polyvariant development (up to 25%) is characteristic of temporal latitudes (this may be associated both with the long growing season and a considerable coenotic diversity). It has been found that, further south (in semideserts and steppes) and further north (in the central and northern taiga), the proportion of species with polyvariant life cycles does not exceed 5%. At low latitudes, a polyvariant pattern is often manifested in the form of facultative bivoltine life cycles or as facultative biennial life cycles in species with the initial “spring” breeding type.