2018 Nocturnal Insect Research Update | MPG Ranch

2018 Nocturnal Insect Research Update

December 6, 2018

Mat Seidensticker and Kate Stone describe the methods employed, and some of the nocturnal insect species found during the summer of 2018.

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Nocturnal Insect Research Update Mat Seidensticker Kate Stone November 23, 2018

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We completed our 2nd season of nocturnal insect collections during the summer of 2018.

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We collected tissue samples from 760 voucher specimens representing 11 insect Orders

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Adding Malaise sampling to our toolkit clearly allowed us to accomplish one of the major goals of 2018 sampling: to better sample the insect taxa we detected in fecal samples of Common Nighthawks and bats in 2017.

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Using the Malaise trap, we captured and collected tissue samples from 189 fly specimens, a significant increase from the 24 we collected in 2017

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We also collected more tissue samples from bees/wasps, beetles, and true bugs than in 2017.

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We also wanted to add at least 100 new moth species to our barcode library and ranch species list; we currently have 310 moths in our database from 2017 sampling.

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We captured the beautiful Dark Marathyssa. This unusual, calico-patterned moth has a unique wing shape and curious resting posture in living specimens, with wings pressed down and abdomen up.

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Two colorful kittens...moths, indeed.

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We mentored two interns- Eli DiBari and Benji Fine- from the Bitterroot Wildlife Internship. They compared differences in moth abundance and diversity between the Top House and Duck Mahal.

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We hosted a community light sheet event at the Top House orchard on July 25, during National Moth Week.

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We shipped 8 full microplates (760 samples) to the Canadian Center for DNA Barcoding on September 28.

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We collected 260 new fecal samples from poorwills, nighthawks, flammulated owls, and bats in 2018.

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Next steps: Making links between insects and plants

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Our work identifying pollen on hummingbird bills led us to wonder if we could similarly study pollen transported by moths. Recent research suggests that DNA barcoding may be a promising tool to investigate understudied pollinators like moths.

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We had incredible staff and community support for this project.