Inventory of the Lepidoptera of the Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve

Title: Inventory of the Lepidoptera of the Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve

Goals: 1. Compile an inventory of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies)of the Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve, including adult flight periods and larval host plants, if possible
2. Prepare a synoptic collection of the Lepidoptera to be housed in the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis.
3. Compare the inventory with Lepidoptera surveys from other sites.

Outline of Proposed Research: Collections will be made primarily at night using a portable blacklight to illuminate a sheet suspended from a rope to attract nocturnal species. Up to two night time visits per month will be made. Additional daytime collections and visual surveys may be made to complement the night time collections. Any immatures that are collected will be taken to Davis with a small amount of host plant material to attempt rearing them to adults. Adult specimens will be examined and identified, with representatives of the species pinned, spread and labeled and deposited in a synoptic collection at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis. Some specimens will be loaned or gifted to specialists for help with identification or other legitimate research purposes. Collection data will be submitted annually to the reserve manager and associated personnel, to the California data base of Lepidoptera, to the Lepidopterists' Society, and to other lepidopterists. As many as two graduate or undergraduate students and two non-University volunteers may accompany the P.I. on some visits. Visits cannot be scheduled in advance due to the chance of unfavorable weather conditions. The research group will report each visit by logging in at the reserve entry gate.

NOTE: No protected Lepidoptera species are known or suspected to occur in the Reserve. If any are detected, they will not be collected.