pitfall trapping (Silphidae)

Knowledge graph centered on pitfall trapping (Silphidae) with 71 nodes and 126 connections. Top connected: Bombus, Spruce, Atriplex canescens, Bacteria, Populus.

Method synopsis

Standardized metal can pitfall traps baited with chicken drumsticks, deployed along elevation gradients to monitor burying beetle abundance and species composition.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 13 papers using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — Phoretic mite discrimination among male burying beetle (<i>Nicrophorus investigator</i>) hosts (2008), Annals of the Entomological Society of America. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Deploy pitfall traps for beetle collection
   Pitfall traps consisted of tin coffee cans with metal screen funnel tops, baited with chicken breast. Traps were buried with rims at soil level and covered with a weighted metal screen (1.5-cm openings) to exclude large scavengers. Caged rodent carcasses (20-30 g) consisting of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner) and laboratory mice (Mus sp.) were placed under metal screens (1.5-cm openings) to exclude large scavengers.
   Quantities: Multiple traps deployed, exact number not specifiedDuration: July 7 to 21, 2004Conditions: Rocky Mountain meadows at 2900-3400 m elevation
   Equipment: tin coffee cans, metal screen funnel tops, chicken breast, weighted metal screen, deer mice carcasses, laboratory mice carcasses
2. Collect and process wild beetles
   Beetles were drawn from common holding container at random and mites were removed with a stream of carbon dioxide focused through a pipette tip. Carbon dioxide temporarily incapacitated the mites and the beetle, but all recovered within ~5 min. All mites from each beetle were counted and separated into two size classes: large (P. carabi, >1 mm long, preliminary identification P. subterraneus) and small mites. Body weight (nearest 0.01 g), elytra length (nearest 0.1 mm), and pronotum width (nearest 0.1 mm) were measured for each wild-caught beetle.
   Quantities: 137 total male beetles collected, 1,047 total mites removed and counted (612 large, 435 small)Duration: Processing occurred after field collection periodConditions: Laboratory conditions

Typical Equipment

• metal cans
• raw chicken drumsticks
• aluminum screening
• rubber bands
• chicken-wire mesh
• measurement tools
• insect-pin tattoo equipment

Output Measurements

• species abundance
• pronotum width
• sex ratios
• temporal activity patterns

Papers Using This Protocol (13)

Species Studied With This Protocol