The use of simple crown traps for the insects collection

Abstract

The paper presents data on the use of simple crown traps for studying the insect fauna. The crown trap is a five-litre plastic container with a window cut out on one side of it at a distance of 10 cm from the bottom. The height of the trap location is from 2 m to 10 m from the soil surface. Fermenting beer, various dry wines with the addition of honey, jam or sugar were used as bait. It turned out that crown traps are an effective way to study the insect fauna of the upper layers of forests. During the field seasons of 2018–2019, specimens of the following 12 insect orders were caught in crown traps: Blattoptera, Dermaptera, Orthoptera, Heteroptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Trichoptera, Neuroptera, Raphidioptera, Mecoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera. For trap establishment, it was better to choose places with the growth of deciduous trees secreting sap (Quercus, Acer, Fraxinus, Ulmus, Tilia). This trap type can be used to study the vertical insect distribution in forest systems, seasonal capture, and biotopic distribution. The use of crown traps is recommended during a comprehensive examination to supplement standard field methods. For example, when used properly, such traps can be an effective way of monitoring biodiversity and/or studying threatened insect species. We give seven recommendations to study the entomofauna using crown traps.

Keywords

• arthropods
• attraction
• bait
• fermenting beer
• insects
• insect collection method