Multi-year census of arthropod abundance on the plant Ligusticum porteri near Gothic, CO

The purpose of this study was to track year-to-year variation in aphid abundance on the host plant Ligusticum porteri (Apiaceae). We censused arthropod abundance on the flowering stalks of L. porteri weekly in June-August from 2012 to 2020. The censuses took place in ten L. porteri populations near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, CO. While the same populations were used across years, we randomly selected ten flowering plants in each population in each year (N = 100 plants per year). Observations focused on colonization by the aphid Aphis asclepiadis, its mutualist ants, and natural enemies. When found, we counted other arthropods as well, identifying them to Family or Order in the field. We also counted the number of host plant flowering stalks and inflorescences (umbel). In 2016, we began tracking flowering phenology using a numerical score (0-8). To track senescence, we used a qualitative score (TB=turning brown and AB=all brown) for terminal and primary umbels.