Restoration of a forest ecosystem: The effects of vegetation and dispersal capabilities on the reassembly of plant-dwelling arthropods

A preliminary assessment of changes in plant-dwelling insects when threatened plants are translocated

“…Time lags are expected in the dispersal and establishment of insect populations on translocated host populations (Moir et al 2010b), although reassembly can occur quickly when source insect populations are located nearby (e.g., Gratton and Denno 2005). Insect species with poor dispersal abilities, such as those without wings, may not be capable of reaching new sites and thus require assistance to establish (Moir et al 2005b;Watts et al 2008). Even winged insects can be poor dispersers, such as Mitchell's satyr butterfly, which does not travel further than 420 m year -1 (Szymanski et al 2004).…”

“…At in situ sites (Stirling Range and Torndirrup), insects were collected from both threatened and non-threatened, co-occurring plant species by beating and vacuuming. When used in combination, these techniques have been shown to be efficient for sampling insects within this type of vegetation (Moir et al 2005b;McCarthy et al 2010). All plant individuals were sampled with similar sampling intensity regardless of site, with all above-ground plant structures vacuumed with the samples frozen and sorted under a microscope (see Moir et al 2005a), or plants were beaten and insects fell into a modified butterfly net (*70 cm in diameter) which had the netting replaced with white calico material.…”

Description of three new species of Ceratocader (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae) from Western Australia

“…However, in several localities in south-west Australia (e.g. Jarrahdale, Boddington, Stirling Range National Park, Ravensthorpe, south coastal region) many plants have been sampled intensively as part of other surveys without a single occurrence of a Ceratocader individual (Moir et al 2005a(Moir et al , 2005bFramenau et al 2008;Moir et al unpublished data). Thus, the reasons behind the rarity of Ceratocader remain a mystery.…”

A new species of Carldrakeana (Insecta: Heteroptera: Tingidae) from Western Australia

“…However, C. karli differs considerably from other species in the genus, clearly preferring the host plants Mirbelia dilatata (Papilionaceae) in the Jarrah forest and Rhadinothamnus rudis (Rutaceae) in the Ravensthorpe Ranges. Despite 18 months of sampling at Jarrahdale (> 50 plant species sampled including various Papilionaceae species -see Moir et al 2005b, Moir 2006, and a month sampling in the Ravensthorpe Ranges by two people, no other host was recorded. Furthermore, other methods used during the Boddington study (pitfall traps and Tullgren funnels) failed to yield additional specimens.…”