Grasshoppers and butterflies of the Quitobaquito Management Area, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona
Kingsley KJ and Bailowitz RA. 1987. Grasshoppers and butterflies of the Quitobaquito Management Area, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona. Technical Report No. 21. Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Arizona, National Park Service. Tucson, AZ
Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae and Tettigoniidae) and butterflies (Lepidoptera: Hesperidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae, Libytheidae, and Nymphalidae) were collected and observed at the Quitobaquito Management Area in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona. Nine field trips were taken to the area. The area extends from Williams Spring to Aguajita Wash and includes the oasis and the Quitobaquito Hills. Seventeen species of Orthoptera and 52 species of Lepidoptera were found. Species accounts, including food plants, microhabitat selection, relative abundance and constancy, and information on the role in the ecosystem and relationship to human activity, where appropriate, are given for each species. The area is recovering from intensive human use for many years, including smallscale agriculture and grazing by cattle. It includes a high degree of diversity of plants and microhabitats, and the diversity of grasshoppers and butterflies reflects this history and diversity. The area supports a diverse resident community of grasshoppers and butterflies and is also an important stop-over area for transient butterflies. No apparent threats to the insect community were discovered. The insect community itself creates little or no problem for management consideration, with the possible exception of grasshopper feeding causing slight retardation of recovery from overgrazing.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Kingsley, Kenneth; Bailowitz, Richard
- Date of Issue
- 1987-07
- Publisher
- Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Arizona, National Park Service
- Units
- ORPI
- Keywords
- Aguajita Wash (ORPI), Butterflies & Moths (Lepidoptera), Checklist, Ecology, Grasshoppers & Crickets (Orthoptera), Habitats, Human Impact, Insects (Insecta), Orthoptera, Population Density, Quitobaquito Springs (ORPI), Williams Spring (ORPI)