Gayane Karagyan

• PhD
• National Academy of Sciences of Armenia

In 2022–2023, a survey of drying coniferous plantations in 5 regions of the Republic of Armenia was conducted. Investigations were carried out in plantations of Scots pine Pinus sylvestris L. and Crimean pine Pinus nigra subsp. pallasiana (Lamb.) Holmboe. A total of 125 wood samples were collected and analyzed. For the first time in the territory o...

The drying up of pine plantations in Armenia, which was first observed in 2018, from 2021 was especially intense in the area of the “Sevan” National Park and the valley of the Marmarik River. To find out the causes of drying, our scientific group conducted research since 2022, and some of the results of these studies are presented below.

Since 2020, our scientific group is conducting surveys in drying coniferous plantations of Armenia. During the work, the biodiversity of insect pests was revealed and a number of alien species were discovered. At the same time, the facts of further expansion of invasive species in the country were observed.

The paper presents a checklist of the bark and ambrosia beetles (Curculionidae: Platypodinae and Scolytinae) of Armenia. The fauna is comprised of one Platypodinae and Scolytinae 73 species, among which four species, Lymantor coryli (Perris, 1855), Ips typographus (Linnaeus, 1758), Orthotomicus erosus (Wollaston, 1857) and Scolytus eichhoffi Reitte...

Eight aphid species - Aphis hederae Kaltenbach, 1843, A. mirifica (Börner, 1950), A. origani Passerini, 1860, A. umbrella (Börner, 1950), Chaitophorus horii Takahashi, 1939, Hyadaphis coriandri (Das, 1918), Uroleucon jaceae (Linnaeus, 1758) and U. inulicola (Hille Ris Lambers, 1939) are recorded for the first time from Armenia. Additionally, Aphis...

The hyperdiverse wood‐inhabiting fungi play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle, but often are threatened by deadwood removal, particularly in temperate forests dominated by European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis). To study the impact of abiotic drivers, deadwood factors, forest management and biogeographical pa...

The new aphid species Metopeurum caucasicum sp. nov. living on Achillea millefolium and five species of Tanacetum, namely T. abrotanifolium, T. balsamita, T. balsamitoides, T. canescens and T. vulgare (Asteraceae) in Armenia and Georgia, is described based on the apterous viviparous females. Diagnosis to other species of the genus is given. Some di...

The new aphid species Metopeurum caucasicum sp. nov. living on Achillea millefolium and five species of Tanacetum, namely T. abrotanifolium, T. balsamita, T. balsamitoides, T. canescens and T. vulgare (Asteraceae) in Armenia and Georgia, is described based on the apterous viviparous females. Diagnosis to other species of the genus is given. Some di...

The article presents the first overview of animal invasions in Armenia with a national comprehensive combined list of documented invasive alien animal species. This list includes 40 species from various taxa of invertebrates and vertebrates, including nematodes, annelids, crustaceans, insects, mollusks, fish and mammals. For each species, we presen...

Drying of pine plantations (Pinus spp.), mainly artificial, on the territory of Armenia were observed about 6 years ago in the northern provinces, and in subsequent years this phenomenon began to take on a massive character and now this problem is also observed in the central and southern regions of the country. To find out the causes of drying of...

This paper presents a checklist of aphids of Armenia. Nowadays, 203 species of aphids belonging to 83 genera, 10 subfamilies, two families and two superfamilies are known, of which nine species are recognized in Armenia for the first time: Aphis cephalariae Barjadze, A. chloris Koch, A. solanella Theobald, A. urticata Gmelin, A. wellensteini (Börne...

Tree-related microhabitats (TreMs) provide a quantitative indicator of habitat heterogeneity in forests, including beech (Fagus) forests. However, systematic analyses of the factors driving TreM diversity and composition in Fagus sylvatica and F. orientalis forests are lacking. In this study, the TreMs of beech forests on 203 plots of 22 forest sit...

The data on the first findings of the southern green stink bug Nezara viridula (Linnaeus, 1758) in Armenia are presented. The species was found in three localities in the north-eastern part of the country, characterized by subtropical climatic conditions. The species is thought to have spread naturally from neighbouring regions of Georgia or Azerba...

The data on the first findings of the southern green stink bug Nezara viridula (Linnaeus, 1758) in Armenia are presented. The species was found in three localities in the north-eastern part of the country, characterized by subtropical climatic conditions. The species is thought to have spread naturally from neighboring regions of Georgia or Azerbai...

The rare antlion Dendroleon pantherinus (Fab-ricius, 1787) is recorded from Armenia for the first time; it was found in forest regions of North Eastern Armenia. Considering the rarity of this species, both throughout its range and in Armenia, it is proposed to include it in the next edition of the Red Book of the country.

Once introduced into new area, invasive species can be expected to have low genetic diversity due to the founder effect. Here we tested this prediction using cytogenetic and molecular analysis of Armenian and Belarusian populations of Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say, 1824) and by comparing the results with those of native (Nor...

The origin and diversification process of lineages of organisms that are currently widely distributed among continents is an interesting subject for exploring the evolutionary history of global species diversity. Ground beetles of the subfamily Carabinae are flightless except for one lineage, but nevertheless occur on all continents except Antarcti...

Data on the first registration of conifer seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis in Armenia are presented. Penetration of the species from Georgia due to self-dependent expansion or unintentional delivery is presumed.

Data on the first registration of conifer seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis in Armenia are presented. Penetration of the species from Georgia due to self-dependent expansion or unintentional delivery is presumed.

The periodical cicadas of the genus Magicicada Davis, 1925 inhabiting eastern United States are characterized by a long juvenile period of 17 or 13 years and periodical mass emergence of adults. In this genus, only seven species are distinguished and are distributed into three species groups, Decim, Cassini and Decula. We performed comparative cyto...

Some highly isolated oceanic islands harbour endemic ground beetles that have lost the ability to fly. Here, we investigated the origin of the possibly extinct flightless giant ground beetle Aplothorax burchelli on St Helena Island in the South Atlantic. Aplothorax burchelli was initially considered to be a member of the subtribe Calosomina (=genus...

New records of 19 species of myrmeleontoid lacewings (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae, Ascalaphidae, Nemopteridae) of Armenian fauna are presented. In comparison with adjacent Caucasian countries Armenian fauna of antlions, spoonwings and owlflies could be characterized as manifold, organized under the influence of Anatolian faunistic center. Distoleon...

The representatives of the lacewing families Myrmeleontidae, Ascalaphidae, and Nemopteridae (the suborder Myrmeleontiformia) were studied with reference to the number of testicular follicles in males and the number of ovarioles in females. We have found that the number of follicles is highly variable, at least in the first two families. In the comp...

Data on the expansion of the range of an invasive beetle species, harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis Pall.), in Armenia are presented. The species was first recorded in 2016 in the extreme northwest of Armenia; however, in 2018, the species was found in several localities of Central Armenia and in the basin of Lake Sevan and its mass outbreak wa...

The paper is dedicated to the rare and endangered insect species proposed for inclusion into the coming edition of the Red Book of Animals of the Republic of Armenia. Brief data on 25 species are given. Proposals for development of the system of PAs of the country targeted to improvement of insect protection are given as well

Some cytogenetic features (karyotype, localization of C-positive heterochromatin blocks in homologues chromosomes, cyto-morphology of erythrocytes) of two representatives of amphibians (Bufotes variabilis (Pallas, 1769) and Rana macrocnemis Boulenger, 1885) from the vicinities of the Kajaran copper-molybdenum mining enterprise in Armenia with high...

Background: Anopheles sacharovi is a dominant malaria vector species in South Europe and the Middle East which has a highly plastic behaviour at both adult and larval stages. Such plasticity has prevented this species from eradication by several anti-vector campaigns. The development of new genome-based strategies for vector control will benefit f...

The composition of plasma proteins, LDH activity and the content of total protein (TP) of Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) from urbanized biotopes were studied. It was shown that frogs inhabiting the territories near the objects of metallurgy are characterized by a higher content of TP, diminishing of gamma-globulin fractions and enhancing of a...

Information on the first finding (one specimen) in Armenia of an invasive species of beetle, harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis, is presented. Invasion from Georgia as a result of self-expansion or unintentional delivery is presumed.

The data on the first registration of harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis in Armenia are presented. Penetration of the species from Georgia due to self-dependent expansion or unintentional delivery is presumed.

Two new species of Sphenoptera Dejean, 1833: S. (Deudora) peninsulae sp. nov. from the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia and Yemen) and Sphenoptera (Deudora) svatopluki sp. nov. from Iraq are described, fi gured and compared with closely related species.

Although previous cytogenetic analysis of Pamphagidae grasshoppers pointed to considerable karyotype uniformity among most of the species in the family, our study of species from Armenia has discovered other, previously unknown karyotypes, differing from the standard for Pamphagidae mainly in having unusual sets of sex chromosomes. Asiotmethis turr...

Parthenogenetic population of leaf beetle Bromius obscurus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) was found in Syunik province of Armenia. Karyotype of the population was studied. Chromosomal polymorphism was revealed, chromosome number in the set ranged between 22 and 24 with the last number prevalenting. Question of the ploidy in the studie...

The male karyotypes of Acmaeodera pilosellae persica Mannerheim, 1837 with 2n=20 (18+neoXY), Sphenoptera scovitzii Faldermann, 1835 (2n=38-46), Dicerca aenea validiuscula Semenov, 1895 - 2n=20 (18+Xyp) and Sphaerobothris aghababiani Volkovitsh et Kalashian, 1998 - 2n=16 (14+Xyp) were studied using conventional staining and different chromosome band...

The male karyotypes of 5 buprestid species belonging to 4 genera, 4 tribes and 3 subfamilies - Polycestinae, Chrysochroinae, Buprestinae from Armenia are described. In Acmaeodera flavolineata Laporte et Gory, 1835, Sphenoptera tamarisci beckeri Dohrn, 1866, Anthaxia olympica Kiesenwetter, 1880, A. amasina Daniel, 1903 and Chrysobothris affinis tetr...

Karyotype analysis of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans samples derived from Armenian and Turkey populations was performed using C-banding technique. Chromosome polymorphism was associated only with B chromosomes that were revealed in all studied populations. Six new B chromosome morphotypes were described. Four morphotypes were found only in A...

Internal reproductive organs of male of jewel- beetles Acmaeoderella (Euacmaeoderella) obscura Reitt., Ovalisia (Scintillatrix) nadezhdae Sem., Sphenoptera (Chrysoblemma) scovitzi scovitzi Fald., Sph. (Ch.) tama risci beckeri Dohrn., Sph. (Hoplistura) mesopotamica Mars., Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) olympica Kiesw., Sphaerobothris aghababiani Volk., Kal...

As a part of ongoing cytogenetic studies on the jewel-beetles (Buprestidae, Coleoptera) of Armenia, the male karyotypes and meiosis of nine species (5 genera, 4 tribes, 2 subfamilies) are described, figured and discussed. In Ovalisia nadezhdae Sem., Sphenoptera artemisiae Reitt., Coraebus rubi L., C. sinuatus Creutz., Meliboeus caucasicus Reitt., A...

Karyotypic details were studied in males of six beetle species from three families, viz. Tenebrionidae: Dailognatha pumila Bdy. (2n = 20, n(male) = 9 + Xy(p)), Pachyscelis musiva Ménétr. (2n = 18, n(male) = 8 + Xy(p)), Pimelia capito Kryn. (2n = 18, n(male) = 8 + Xy(p)); Cerambycidae: Agapanthia walteri Reitt. (2n = 20, n(male) = 9+Xy(p)), Agapanth...

Cytogenetic investigations were carried out on seven species of bisexual weevils from five subfamilies. The following numbers of chromosomes were found in individual species: 2n = 22, n male = 10 + Xyp in Ptochus porcellus Boh. (Otiorhynchinae); 2n = 40, n male = 19 + Xyp in Larinodontes turbinatus Gyll. (Cleoninae); 2n = 26, n male = 12 + Xyp in C...

The male karyotypes of six species of the buprestid genera Sphenoptera (two species) and Acmaeoderella (four species) were studied after Ag-banding. The following karyotypes were found in individual species: n = 19-23, with predominance of 23, in Sphenoptera scovitzi Fald., 2n = 24 (22 + Xyp) in Sphenoptera mesopotamica Mars., 2n = 18 (16 + Xyr) in...

Karyological studies were carried out on three Armenian weevil species from the subfamily Cleoninae. The following chromosome numbers were found in individual species: 2n = 38, n Male = 18 + Xyp in Menecleonus anxius (Gyllenhal, 1824), 2n = 40, n Male = 19 + Xyp in Conorhynchus nigrivittis (Pallas, 1781) and 2n = 44, n Male = 21 + Xyp in Lixus irid...