Complexes of activity on the sun in Schwabe-Wolf cycles

Complexes of activity (CA) observed in 1980-2011 have been used to demonstrate that the pattern of variations of monthly average Wolf numbers during the 11-year cycle (Schwabe-Wolf cycle) is essentially determined by the CA contribution. Quasisynchronous appearance of several CA and their subsequent disappearance give rise to pulse (cyclic) variations of CA indices and Wolf numbers with a characteristic period from six-eight solar rotations at the beginning of this cycle to eleven-fourteen rotations near the cycle maximum. We have discussed variations of CA parameters in cycles 21-24, including the total increase in the number of CA and strong flares. A hypothesis has been advanced about long-period redistribution of energy between two types of active regions (from short-lived spot groups to complexes of activity) during the period under study.