Communities of phyllophagous insects in young birch greeneries of northern cities

Phyllophagous insect assemblages on birch trees have been studied in greeneries of the cities of Labytnangi and Salekhard and natural habitats in the environs of these cities in 2007, 2010, and 2013. The 44 recorded species were dominated by insects of the orders Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera (18 and 12 species, respectively); regarding feeding ecology and mode of life, they were dominated by open-living chewing phyllophages and miners (19 and 10 species). The urban greeneries and sparse birch forests were colonized by the same species, but the density of many species in the cities was considerably higher. The species composition of the communities changed considerably from year to year. The species richness and similarity of insect assemblages at the studied sites were the highest in 2013. The basic pests of birch in the northern cities were chewing phyllophages, especially Tenthredinidae sawflies.