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An Update on Moth Research About Ohio's Biota Pseudoscorpions An Update on Moth Research at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area, Wyandot County, Ohio, and other prairies in Ohio b y Eric H. Metzler Ohio Lepidopterists When I walk into the prairies at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area, there are some places where I can imagine bison wandering, feeding, and doing whatever bison do. Although associated with the Great Plains, bison were in Ohio when European settlers arrived. From E. N. Transeau we know that Ohio's prairies were once connected with prairies to the west, and it makes sense that if prairie plants are here, prairie animals should also be here. Although the bison are gone, many other species of animals associated with prairies are in Ohio - and they are still associated with prairies. Part of the assessment of the health of an ecosystem includes a measurement of all the plants and animals in the system. Prairies, wetlands, and other habitats are indicated visually by plants, yet the complete ecosystem includes all the plants and animals. Ducks help indicate a wetland, and meadow larks help indicate a grassland. Animals that are much smaller in size, insects, are also excellent indicators of each of these, and other, habitats. Insects account for more than one half the species of all living organisms on Earth. Their diversity, abundance, small size, and the specialized nature of their requirements mean that they are important components of our biological diversity, and they are excellent indicators of the health of our environment. Lepidoptera, butterflies and moths, are ideal ambassadors of the insect world for measuring biological diversity, and for making assessments of the health of specialized habitats. Lepidoptera account for about 15% of all insects. Their abundance means there are many species to measure. They are popular with the general public, and efforts to manage areas for the benefit of Lepidoptera are well-liked. As herbivores (the caterpillars eat plants) Lepidoptera are closely tied to plant communities, thus their occurrence should be congruent with the visual features, plants, that are obvious with most habitats. Soils, structure of the plant communities, climate, parasites, and predators are some of the other factors affecting occurrence and abundance of most species. The Ohio Survey of Lepidoptera, sponsored by he Ohio Lepidopterists, and financially supported by the ODNR, Division of Wildlife from 1986 through 1992, is the most comprehensive database of Lepidoptera for any state. With over 96,000 individual records and over 4,000 site localities in the database, the Ohio Lepidopterists is well positioned to evaluate the occurrence of most species in Ohio. Roger Zebold and I just completed a four year intensive inventory of the Lepidoptera at Huffman Prairie at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Greene Co. These factors, coupled with the special knowledge of many members of the Ohio Lepidopterists, led the Ohio Biological Survey and the ODNR, Division of Wildlife to include Lepidoptera in the research at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area. John W. Peacock, David K. Parshall, and I are participating in the Lepidoptera research portion of the overall project. John and Dave looked for butterflies, and I looked for moths. My part of the project consists of operating blacklight traps, specially designed to capture night flying moths. I operate 4 traps on each trip. Because the focus of this project is on Species of Special Concern I selected habitats where species considered to be endangered by the Division of Wildlife, are most apt to occur. Each trap is placed in a different habitat - dry tall grass prairie, wetland dominated by willows and cottonwoods, wet meadow with no trees, and wet tall grass prairie. I also utilize fermenting baits, during the winter months, in a mature wooded area. During 1994 and 1995, I made 15 trips to Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area for this research project. The results are nothing less than spectacular. Species indicative of prairies occur in the prairies, and wetland species are in the wetlands. Several species, including Tarachidia binocula, T. tortricina, Luperina stipata, and Eucosma bilineana, which are excellent prairie indicators in Ohio, were found, and two species, Papaipema beeriana, and Spartiniphaga inops, considered to be endangered in Ohio, were also found. Spartiniphaga inops was found in both the wetland and the wet prairie. Papaipema beeriana is also a prairie species. One species, Luperina stipata, not seen in Ohio for 90 years prior to three specimens found in Huffman Prairie, is abundant at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area. Tarachidia binocula, uncommon in prairies at Resthaven Wildlife Area and Huffman Prairie, is abundant at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area. None of these species has a common name. The larval hosts of Tarachidia binocula and T. tortricina are not known. The larvae of Luperina stipata and Spartiniphaga inops bore in the stems of prairie cord-grass, Spartina pectinata. The larvae of Papaipema beeriana bore in the roots of blazing star, Liatris sp. The larvae of Eucosma bilineana feed on Helianthus sp. All of these species occur in the prairie areas because of the occurrence of the larval host. In some cases, larval hosts may be more widespread, but other conditions, such as soils, restrict the distribution of the moth. At least ten species collected at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area were previously unrecorded from Ohio. According to the literature, Chedra inquisitor was known only from the type series. Another species, Oligia tonsa normally occurs in areas north of Ohio, i.e., Michigan and Wisconsin. Although the work at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area includes more than prairies, the knowledge gained from the research at Huffman Prairie allows excellent comparisons. In addition, the data from these prairies are being used for insight into a new project, managed by the Ohio Biological Survey in conjunction with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The Wisconsin DNR is administering a Partnerships for Wildlife grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The purpose of the grant is to gain information on insects in northern tall grass prairies. The Ohio Biological Survey is managing the Lepidoptera portion of the project. Les Ferge in Wisconsin and I in Ohio are cooperators with the Lepidoptera portion project. Initially I am sampling moths at two sites in Resthaven Wildlife Area, Erie County, Ohio, as well as Irwin Prairie State Nature Preserve, Kitty Todd Preserve, and Oak Openings Metropark in Lucas County, Ohio. The project was started in August 1994. Two species, Dichomeris costarufoella and Walshia similis were discovered in Ohio for the first time at Resthaven Wildlife Area. Several hundred other specimens must still be dissected for positive identification. Insects are excellent indicators of habitats and their vitality. Too little research has been documented in the literature. A few lepidopterists are working with butterflies in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. Ron Panzer in northern Illinois, and Les Ferge in Wisconsin are working with larger moths and butterflies. K.G.A. Hamilton, Ottawa Ontario, is working with leafhoppers, and members of The Ohio Lepidopterists are documenting their research in Ohio. More needs to be done, but we have a commendable start. We should have excellent results as the projects continue to yield results. About Ohio's Biota Pseudoscorpions by Brian J. Armitage, Ph.D. Ohio Biological Survey Within the Phylum Arthropoda, the most abundant and diverse group of metazoa on Earth, systematists have created four subphyla: Trilobita, Chelicerata, Uniramia, and Crustacea. Subphylum Trilobita includes the extinct primitive trilobites and their kin. Subphylum Uniramia includes the insects and myriapods (millipedes, centipedes, and others). Subphylum Crustacea, a familiar group, includes fairy shrimp, water fleas, copepods, barnacles, crabs, shrimps, lobsters, and crayfish. The Subphylum Chelicerata is also a familiar group, but more so by common name. Horseshoe crabs, scorpions, spiders, and sea spiders (pycnogonids) comprise this group of arthropods. In this group, the head and thorax regions are combined into a unit termed a prosoma (translated as isfore or front body;l° sometimes the term cephalothorax is used). The abdominal segments make up a unit referred to as the opisthosoma (translated as "after or back body"). Of the three classes of chelicerates, the Class Arachnida contains the most familiar, the most feared, and the most economically and medically important members of this subphylum. Grade B and higher movies and personal experience have helped to jade our opinion of spiders (Order Araneae) and scorpions (Order Scorpiones). Mites (Order Acarini) are the bane of most agriculturalists and home gardeners, and ticks have always been in disfavor due to their transmittal of diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Lyme Disease, and most recently Granulocytic Disease. Other orders of arachnids include the whip scorpions or vinegaroons (Order Uropygi), schizomids (Order Schizomida), tailless whip scorpions (Order Amblypygi), palpigrades (Order Palpigradi), ricinuleids (Order Ricinulei), false scorpions (Order Pseudoscorpionida), solpugids (Order Solpugida), and daddy long-legs or harvestmen (Order Opiliones). Among the smallest of arachnids are the false or pseudoscorpions which range from a 2-8 millimeters in length. They are found in soil, leaf mold, animal nests, caves, and moss and beneath stones and bark. Known from throughout the world, approximately 2,000 species have been described to date. Because they are so small and occupy cryptic habitats, the total number of species living on Earth right now could easily be ten times higher. Superficially, pseudoscorpions resemble true scorpions; however, they lack the stinging apparatus and the elongate opisthosoma. The first pair of appendages, the chelicerae, are two segmented and serve as accessory mouthparts, used mainly to grasp and macerate food. The second pair of appendages, the chelate pedipalps, are similar to those of true scorpions, and have a poison gland associated with one or both of them. The pincerlike chela segment of the pedipalps is used primarily for defense and food gathering. The remaining pairs of appendages are walking legs. True to their class, pseudoscorpions maintain themselves through predation. Mites and collembola are thought to be their primary prey. Both ambush and stalk modes of capture have been documented. Pseudoscorpions, like most arachnids, partially digest their food externally. Once captured in the chelae, venom is injected into the prey item to immobilize it quickly. The prey's body is then passed to the chelicerae where it is pierced and exposed to secreted digestive enzymes. The dissolved body juices are then taken into the body where further digestion occurs. Pseudoscorpions have a typical arachnid reproductive pattern. Prior to mating the adults often exhibit a form of courtship, including posturing, various dancing steps, and grasping with the pedipalps. Subsequently, the male produces a stalked spermatophore which he attaches to the substrate. The female acquires the sperm from that structure, a form of indirect sperm transfer. The fertilized eggs are transferred to a secreted brood pouch where they remain during hatching and development to the protonymphal stage. Two additional nymphal stages, deutonymph and tritonymph, must be attained via molting before the final development into the adult form. Because they live in dark habitats, eyesight is not especially important to pseudoscorpions. Touch (tactile) appears to be the most important sense for these small arthropods. Thought to have first evolved in soil and leaf litter, pseudoscorpions have radiated into a wide number of ecological niches. They have even evolved a behavior termed phoresy which enables them to be carried sometimes long distances by attaching to a larger animal and hitchhiking to a new location. There are a wide variety of arthropods, in addition to pseudoscorpions, which inhabit leaf mold. The high humidity found in this substrate is ideal for small arthropods which must constantly guard against dessication. A simple way to collect pseudoscorpions and other soil arthropods is by using a Berlese funnel. A cup or glass filled with alcohol or some other preservative, a large funnel made out of plastic or metal, a round piece of screen to hold the leaf litter, and a lamp are all that is required. The heat from the lamp dries out the leaf litter and forces the organisms to go deeper. Once they reach the screen, usually they drop through into the alcohol. Some years hence, once the Survey has put the final touches on the Aquatic Insect Survey, we are considering a general survey of soil arthropods such as pseudoscorpions. If this is a project in which you would consider volunteering some time, please let us know and we'll put your name in our iutomorrow fileld for future activities. Additional reading: Dindal, Daniel L. 1990. Soil Biology Guide. John Wiley & Sons. New York, NY. 1349 pp. ISBN0-471-04551-9 Ruppert, Edward E. and Robert D. Barnes. 1994. Invertebrate Zoology. Sixth Ed. Saunders College Publishing. Fort Worth, TX. 1056 pp. ISBN 0-03-026668-8 Brusca, Richard C. and Gary J. Brusca. 1990. Invertebrates. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, MA. 922 pp. ISBN 0-87893-098-1 top |