Abundance and Distribution of Flying Insects in a Woodlot and Grassland Habitat

On September 28, 2015, an experiment on the abundance and diversity of flying insects was conducted. The objective of this study was to determine the abundance and distribution of insects in a Grassland and Woodlot habitat. The experiment was conducted 3:00pm in the SayWell Woodlot and 4:00pm in the Stong Pond Grassland, located at York University. Temperature on that day was around 21 degrees Celsius with cloudy skies and a low humidity. The grasslands were slightly damp due to the rain that had occurred prior to conducting the experiment. For the woodlot, the field of study was 18 m long and was measured using a transect tape. Experimenters started with the woodlot and positioned eight pans of alternating colors (Yellow, White, Blue) in linear arrangement. The distance between the pans was approximately 3 m in length. After the pans were positioned, they were we filled up halfway with soapy water to attract and trap the insects. It was roughly 4:00 pm, and experimenters then proceeded to the grassland habitat. For the grassland, the field of study was 21m long and was measured using a transect tape. Experimenters positioned seven pans of alternating colors (Yellow, White, Blue) in linear arrangement. The distance was 3 m in length. After positioning the pans, they were filled up halfway with soapy water to attract and trap insects. It was roughly 4:30 pm when experimenters finished with the woodlot. The experimenters proceeded to the grassland habitat and checked on the pans placed. The number of insects trapped in the pans were counted and specified by the experimenters. The observations were recorded. Each insect’s name, type and taxonomic order were defined using the insect key provided in the lab manual. After the examination of the pans in the grassland, experimenters proceeded back to the woodlot roughly 4:45pm to count and specify the number of insects trapped in the pan. The experimenters recorded all observations found in both habitats. Common species that were found in each of the pan trap included: Spiders (Araneae), Beetles (Coleoptera), Flies (Diptera), Mosquitoes (Diptera), Ants (Hymenoptera), Wasps (Hymenoptera). Ron Kleiman and Mohamed Imrit helped with obtaining this raw data. Once the experiment was concluded, at around 5:00pm, the soapy water was emptied and the pans were collected.

2015年9月28日，本团队开展了一项针对飞行昆虫丰度与多样性的实验。本研究旨在探明草原与林地生境中昆虫的丰度与分布特征。实验分别于当日下午3点在约克大学（York University）塞韦尔林地（SayWell Woodlot），以及下午4点在同校斯汤塘草原（Stong Pond Grassland）开展。当日气温约21摄氏度，天空多云，湿度偏低；实验前曾有降雨，导致草原区域地面略显潮湿。针对林地的实验样带长18米，采用样带卷尺进行丈量。研究人员首先开展林地实验：将8个颜色交替为黄、白、蓝的托盘以线性阵列布设，托盘间距约3米。托盘布设完成后，向其中注入半量肥皂水以吸引并诱捕昆虫。此时约为下午4点，研究人员随即前往草原生境。针对草原的实验样带长21米，同样采用样带卷尺丈量。研究人员布设7个颜色交替为黄、白、蓝的托盘，呈线性排列，间距为3米。托盘布设完成后，向其中注入半量肥皂水以诱捕昆虫。约下午4点30分，研究人员完成林地相关实验工作，随后前往草原生境检查已布设的托盘。研究人员对托盘内捕获的昆虫进行计数与分类，并记录所有观测数据。每一种昆虫的名称、类群及分类目阶均依据实验手册提供的昆虫检索表进行确定。在完成草原区域的托盘检查后，研究人员于约下午4点45分返回林地，对当日布设的托盘内捕获的昆虫进行计数与分类。本次实验各托盘诱捕到的常见类群包括：蜘蛛（Araneae）、甲虫（Coleoptera）、蝇类（Diptera）、蚊类（Diptera）、蚂蚁（Hymenoptera）及蜂类（Hymenoptera）。罗恩·克莱曼（Ron Kleiman）与穆罕默德·伊姆里特（Mohamed Imrit）协助获取了本原始实验数据。实验结束后（约下午5点），研究人员清空托盘内的肥皂水，并回收所有托盘。