Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2010, Page 94

VÉRONIQUE FORBES, ALLISON BAIN, GUÐRÚN ALDA GÍSLADÓTTIR AND KAREN B. MILEK
all kinds of habitats that contain decaying
organic matter including dung and com-
post. They are often predacious on other
invertebrates or are mycetophagous,
feeding on moss or fungi (Arnett Jr. &
Thomas 2001, 276; Bousquet 1990, 177).
Twenty-eight specimens from the genus
Philonthus were identifíed. Their habitats
include litter, wet moss, carrion, nests
and middens (Amett Jr. & Thomas 2001,
393). Quedius mesomelinus is often
found in farm buildings like cellars, sta-
bles, as well as in stores (Campbell el al.
1989, 580; Smetana 1971, 78). In
Iceland, this species is generally synan-
thropic (associated with environments
made by humans) and is often found in
hay, turf and dung (Larsson & Gígja
1959, 90-91). The genus Omalium lives
either in association with humans, in
birds’ nests or in seaweed accumulated
on marine littorals, where they hunt for
prey (Arnett Jr. & Thomas 2001, 337).
Omalium excavatum, also found in the
Vatnstjörður samples, is the most com-
mon species of this genus in Iceland
(Larsson & Gígja 1959: 64). Both
Lesteva longoelytrata and Tachinus cor-
ticinus prefer wet habitats within and out-
side of buildings (Gudleifsson 2005;
Larsson & Gígja 1959). Specimens from
the subfamily Aleocharinae, which is dif-
ficult to identify below the level of sub-
family, were numerous in these
archaeoentomological assemblages.
These all feed on decaying organic mat-
ter. The genus Stenus consists of special-
ized predator species that feed on
springtails and other arthropods (Amett
Jr. & Thomas 2001: 381). In Iceland
Stenus lives in cultivated fields, sea
coasts, lakes and river shores, wooden
areas, bogs and old hay (Larsson & Gígja
1959, 75-80).
Members of the genus Cercyon, from
the family Hydrophilidae, are also associ-
ated with organic matter such as manure
and decaying plant material. Some of
them are found near the marine littoral in
Iceland, and are more or less dependent
on the presence of human activity,
notably the herding of large mammals
(Larsson & Gígja 1959, 122-127).
The outdoor fauna
One species of tme bug (order
Hemiptera) was identified in the assem-
blage from Vatnsfjörður, and it belongs
to the outdoor fauna. This was Nysius eri-
cae, a species belonging to the family
Lygaeidae. Members of this genus feed
mainly on plant seeds and are able to fly
relatively long distances (Judd &
Hodkinson 1998, 227). In Iceland, this
species prefers sandy and dry environ-
ments (Erling Ólafsson, personal com-
munication, 2009).
Members of the Carabidae family
(ground beetles) may be predators or
scavengers, polyphagous or hygrophilous
(adapted to a damp environment), and
often live in a wide variety of habitats
(Arnett Jr. & Thomas 2001, 35-36).
Nebria rufescens is distributed through-
out the whole of Iceland, in diverse habi-
tats, except very wet soils and in
mountainous heaths (Larsson & Gígja
1959, 14-15). Notiophilus aquaticus,
Calathus melanocephalus and Amara
quenseli were also present. In Iceland,
they are found in relatively dry biotopes,
preferring open environments with sparse
92