Building a Better Bee Trap: Researchers Say Bee Bowls Are Overused
In a look at the state of bee monitoring in the U.S., a group of researchers argue the commonly used bowl trap presents too many drawbacks to effectively study bee abundance and diversity.
For an Understudied Ant Genus, Two Researchers Choose a “Bird Guide” ID Tool
The Rasopone genus of tropical leaf-litter ants gets a thorough taxonomic revision, and the researchers behind the long-term project present their identification manual in a "bird guide" format rather than the traditional dichotomous key.
Rolled Cardboard Makes a Handy Insect-Sampling Tool
A group of researchers gets creative with some simple materials: strips of cardboard, rolled up and tied with string. Affixed to tree trunks or limbs, the "trunk refugia" show promise as a simple and inexpensive tool for sampling tree-dwelling insects and arthropods.
Twenty-Year Study Shows How Climate and Habitat Change Impact One Mantid Species
It may be just one study of one species in one field in Virginia, but 20 years of monitoring Chinese mantid numbers there illustrates the potential double whammy of habitat loss (even a naturally occurring one) and climate change.