Insect survey of Devils Tower National Monument 1983-1985

Ferris, Clifford

"This survey was initiated in the spring of 1983 by Richard A. Guilmette, then the Chief Ranger (now retired) at Devil's Tower National Monument. Collections of insect specimens were made by volunteers during the three seasons: 1983, 1984, 1985. Tower personnel who were involved with collecting material are as follows: Wgers] Randy Follett, Richard A. Guilmette, Karen Rosga, James Schlenkmann; [Administrative Personnel] Shirley Norton; [Seasonal Employees] 3. Eric Haugland, Richard Myers, Susan Schuhardt. With the exception of the top of the Tower itself, collections were made over all of the life zones associated with the Monument. Specimens were taken by hand, by net, by bait, and through the use of ultraviolet light traps. Nocturnal material was also collected at lights on the grounds. A Berlese funnel was used to separate small insects from demtus. Some of the material collected has apparently been lost. In late 1985, numerous vials of specimens in alcohol and several boxes of pinned material were sent for identification to the Florida State Collection of Arthropods in Gainesville, FL. Receipt of this material was acknowledged, but it was then apparently misplaced. Only two boxes of pinned specimens were returned. Consequently, there are no identifications or lists of the many delicate and softbodied insects that were placed in alcohol. Among the specimens in alcohol that were lost were nearly all of the ants. The records for ants included in this report were taken from the Bernstein reference listed at the end of this report. The extant material has been placed in Cornell museum drawers in a cabinet at Devil's Tower National Monument. Excess duplicate material has been placed in the University of Wyoming Entomological Collection, Laramie. WY, and in the National Museum of Natural History - Smithsonian Institution, Washington. DC." (from document Abstract)