Abstract
Malaise and Möricke traps, universally used mostly to sample wasps and flies, are compared for the first time at genus level, focusing on Cryptini, one of the most diverse parasitoid taxa. Conclusions are supported by 10,706 man-hours of activities, 5,569 specimens from 20 Atlantic Forest and Amazon Forest localities, 4.81 Malaise trap-years and 89.09 Möricke trap-years. Substantial taxonomic and sexual biases were detected and quantified for Cryptini and for each of its studied genera. Möricke captured a proportion of Cryptini to other Ichenumonidae almost four times greater than Malaise. Most genera were captured mostly or exclusively by one of the traps only. Generally, Malaise collected 2.4 times more males than females, and 20% more species for males than females; Möricke yielded 2.4 times more females, and 2–4 times more species for females than males. The study scrutinizes and reaches beyond an allegedly known, but widely neglected problem. Data interpretation strongly suggests the necessity of sampling with both traps at once, under the risk that biodiversity investigations might otherwise continue to generate grossly biased results. Trap equivalence is discussed and quantified.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Azevedo CO, Helmer JL (1999) Ecologia de comunidade de Bethylidae (Hymenoptera, Chrysidoidea) da Reserva Ecológica do Roncador, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 16:1115–1126
Bartholomew CS, Prowell D (2005) Pan compared to malaise trapping for bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in a longleaf pine savanna. J Kans Entomol Soc 78:390–392
Chay-Hernandez DA, Delfin-Gonzalez H, Parra-Tabla V (2006) Ichneumonoidea (Hymenoptera) community diversity in an agricultural environment in the state of Yucatan, Mexico. Environ Entomol 35:1286–1297
Darling DC, Packer L (1988) Effectiveness of Malaise traps in collecting Hymenoptera: the influence of trap design, mesh size, and location. Can Entomol 120:787–796
García JL (2003) Comparison of the capture of Hymenoptera (Insecta) by means of four sampling methods, in the Cerros Yaví and Yutajé of the Venezuelan Pantepui. Entomotropica 18:27–35
Gauld I (2006) Familia Ichneumonidae. In: Hanson P, Gauld ID (eds) Hymenoptera de la Región Neotropical, vol 77. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, Gainesville, pp 446–487
Guerra TM, Penteado-Dias AM (2002) Abundância de Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) em área de mata em São Carlos, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Acta Scientiarum 24:363–368
Hanson PE, Gauld ID (eds) (1995) The Hymenoptera of Costa Rica. Oxford University Press, New York
Masner L, García JL (2003) The genera of Diapriinae (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae) in the New World. Bull Am Mus Nat Hist 268:1–138
Noyes JS (1989) A study of five methods of sampling Hymenoptera (Insecta) in a tropical rainforest, with special reference to the Parasitica. J Nat Hist 23:285–298
Perioto NW (1991) Perfil da fauna de Hymenoptera Parasitica, incluindo Chrysidoidea, do cerrado da Fazenda Canchim (EMBRAPA, São Carlos, SP). M.Sc. thesis, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, UFSCAR, Brasil
Townes HK (1970) The genera of Ichneumonidae, part 2. Mem Am Entomol Inst 12:1–537
Townes HK (1972) A light-weight Malaise trap. Entomol News 83:239–247
Acknowledgments
Several students and technical personnel have worked hard in sorting, mounting, determining the genera and performing the highly time-consuming morpho-speciation, checking and re-checking sorting and determinations, and much more; they are: Adriana C. B. Ramos, Anazélia M. Tedesco, Fabiana G. Rampinelli, Larissa G. Campello, Tássia Nati, Thanira T. B. Vilches (UFES), Helen A. Ferreira, and Liana K. Nogueira (MZSP). This work benefited from research scholarships provided by FAPESP (Process 03/08585–6), FAPES (Process 36.263.290/07), and FACITEC (Process 027/2007) to APA, and a scholarship from PIBIC/Petrobras to BFS. Norman F. Johnson (The Ohio State University, USA) and Marlúcia Martins (Museu Emílio Goeldi, Brazil) provided nearly all equipment and funding for the collecting trip in Caxiuanã (Amazon). Mark R. Shaw (National Museums of Scotland), Tim R. New (JICO editor) and an anonymous reviewer contributed with many important suggestions and comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aguiar, A.P., Santos, B.F. Discovery of potent, unsuspected sampling disparities for Malaise and Möricke traps, as shown for Neotropical Cryptini (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae). J Insect Conserv 14, 199–206 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-009-9246-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-009-9246-x