In the summer of 2007, we initiated a base-line inventory of land-dwelling invertebrates in three primary groups across eight vegetation habitats at the U. S. Army’s Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site near Model, Colorado. Three groups of insects were selected based on their ecological roles. The herbivores (grasshoppers), pollinators (bees and butterflies) and predators (ground beetles, lady beetles and robber flies) are systematically collected and identified to species or morpho-species. These are not the only insects we are collecting, but include groups we believe are of primary importance to evaluate variations in arthropod species distribution in the habitats included in the research. Species list and voucher collections are being prepared. In addition, specialists in true bugs and arachnid identification have volunteered to identify some specimens in these two groups. The study will be conducted through the summer of 2009.
| Pinon Canyon Reports |
