Sect. 3.3: Invertebrate sorting and identification

The dry lab at EcoQuest Field Centre in Whakatiwai was used for the sorting and identification of invertebrates collected in the pitfall traps. First, debris was removed from the invertebrates by sifting the contents of the trap through a 1 mm screen and using forceps for further separation. The specimens were preserved in a 70% ethanol solution in a sealable plastic container. Coleoptera and Orthoptera > 3mm in length were further separated and identified to family with verification by Dr. Peter Maddison. Those individuals were then measured using a caliper to the nearest tenth of a millimeter.

These few simple sentences from the methods section of my research report describe almost an entire week of work for myself and the invertebrate team. It doesn’t sound like much, but with the consideration that 96 pitfall traps had to be sorted, identified, and measured, it truly is a bit of work. It was meticulous, but each individual beetle and weta could potentially mean a great deal to our findings. So far we have received the preliminary results, which indicate a difference in beetle abundance between the mountains and in Carabid (the predatory beetle family) size distribution between higher and lower elevations on the mountains. This is very interesting as it has significant implications for my discussion on microhabitats.

The highlight of this time in the lab was meeting Dr. Peter Maddison. Dr. Pete is a professional entomologist, former president of the Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society, who confirmed our sorting of beetles and facilitated the discussion of possible results and further investigation. We may have collected a new species of beetle in the Ptilodactylidae family!! Dr. Pete has a few claims to fame. He MCed a party for a club back in England in the mid-60s, featuring The Beatles. There, he got to sing a few songs with them and hear what he reports was the debut of “Hey Jude.” He has also supplied a number of invertebrates for feature films, most notably "Arachnophobia" and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (recall the centipede that crawls over Frodo when he is tangled in the spider’s web).

We all got a bit crazy!!!



Well, I am now just doing a bunch of reading and writing in order to get my DRP report to the best condition. You have all been in my thoughts. See you sooner than yesterday.