Ecological aspects of territorial distribution of a fur carpet beetle (Attagenus pellio) in Surgut residential area

Ecological factors of the environment consist of both objective and subjective sides of life quality and are essential for living conditions and human health. The sanitary and hygienic conditions in human house are important environmental factors, in particular, the presence of parasites affecting health. Numerous biological components of house dust play a dominant role in causing allergic diseases in humans. The parts of arthropods and products of their activity may be the source of allergens in the house dust. It is known that mites of Pyroglyphidae family are the most important representatives of the complex structure of allergens in house dust. However, in the northern regions of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Ugra mite fauna is not detected in house dust, but high rates of allergic diseases allowed us to suppose the presence of other representatives of non-mites fauna in house dust in the North. The study object was Surgut residential area; we studied the species composition of the invertebrates in house dust. Altogether 168 houses were investigated; we took samples of house dust and interviewed people living there about their complaints of skin rash or itching, as well as the presence of insects or their larvae. The method of investigation was to analyze the samples of house dust on the availability of the invertebrates and determine the species composition. The studies showed that mites were absent in the house dust, however, the existence of Coleoptera-fur carpet beetle (Attagenus pellio) beetles was established It is essential that fur carpet beetles were found in about 40% of cases in the samples of house dust from Surgut residential population. The experimental results in combination with the chosen approach applying software and hardware complex GIS MAPINFO allowed us to get an objective environmental picture of territorial distribution of fur carpet beetle and to confirm its interrelation with the presence of skin itching and rashes within Surgut residential area. Thematic cartograms of territorial distribution of fur carpet beetle in the residential area of the city allowed us to distinguish three categories of districts with various degrees of biological contamination and allowed us to consider the existence of a fur carpet beetle in house dust to be one of the criteria of ecological problems in houses.

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