Background: The first summarising checklist of Ukrainian Chironomidae (Insecta, Diptera) consisted of 302 species. Compared to other European countries, it is obvious that the real chironomid diversity of Ukraine has not been fully documented and greater effort is needed to discover the actual richness of this family. Thus, our survey focused on the chironomid fauna of some alpine lakes situated above the treeline in the Ukrainian Carpathians (a part of the Eastern Carpathians) aiming to contribute to the knowledge of the Ukrainian chironomid fauna and create the basis for more comprehensive neo- and palaeolimnological studies of these, regionally, little-known ecosystems.
New information: In total, 34 species/taxa, belonging to 22 genera and 4 subfamilies were collected in June 2019. Ten species were recorded for the first time in Ukraine: Zavrelimyia melanura, Acamptocladius reissi, Cricotopusspeciosus, Cricotopuscurtus, Heterotrissocladius marcidus, Orthocladius dentifer, Psectrocladiusoligosetus, Polypedilumuncinatum, Paratanytarsus laccophilus and Tanytarsus bathophilus. The occurrence of six species previously considered as "doubtfully present" in Ukraine was finally confirmed. Generally, the surveyed lakes have a unique composition of chironomids consisting of a mixture of species typical for cold alpine lakes and acidic ponds situated at lower altitudes.
Keywords: Non-biting midges; Ukrainian Carpathians; alpine ponds; new records; pupal exuviae.
Peter Bitušík, Milan Novikmec, Ladislav Hamerlik.