Abstract
(1) We document the invertebrate fauna collected from 24 oak canopies in east and west Norway as a contribution to the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre’s ‘The Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative’. (2) A snap-shot inventory of the canopies was recorded by means of emitting a mist of natural pyrethrum into the canopies at night using a petrol-driven fogger and collecting the specimens in butterfly nets spread on the ground under the canopy. (3) Almost the entire catch of more than 6800 specimens was identified to 722 species. Out of 92 species new to the Norwegian fauna, 21 were new to science and, additionally, 15 were new to the Nordic fauna. Diptera alone constituted nearly half of the species represented, with 61 new records (18 new species). Additionally, 24 Hymenoptera (one new species), six oribatid mites (two new species) and one Thysanoptera were new to the Norwegian fauna. (4) Our study emphasizes the importance of the oak tree as a habitat both for a specific fauna and occasional visitors, and it demonstrates that the canopy fogging technique is an efficient way to find the ‘hidden fauna’ of Norwegian forests. The low number of red listed species found reflects how poor the Norwegian insect fauna is still studied. Moreover, the implication of the IUCN red list criteria for newly described or newly observed species is discussed.
Highlights
The number of collected specimens in this study was very low compared with the number of collected in this study was very gradient low compared w material collectedThe from a comparable studyspecimens of 24 pine trees over a geographic material collected from a comparable study of pine trees over a geographic g from west to east Norway, and where nearly 30,000 specimens were collected using the from west to east
The monthly temp was, onpling average, slightly higher than the normal
Summary
Few studies have targeted oak canopy invertebrates sampled with canopy fogging methods in Europe but see, e.g., [11,12,13] and chapters in [14]. Efraín Tovar-Sánchez with colleagues, together with a few others (e.g., [15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23]), have been pioneers in the Americas on oak canopy studies. Stork and colleagues [34] discuss the efficiency of fogging as a method for sampling arthropods from the canopies. A larger spectrum of species is sampled compared with any other single method. This makes fogging a useful method for arthropod snapshot inventories. The major disadvantage is that external and internal feeders are underrepresented (phloem feeders, leaf miners and wood borers), non-obligate occasional by-passers (tourists) will be captured and that the method is sensitive to wind and precipitation [39,40]
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