D3301: Devils tower: Year two of a comparative insect biodiversity survey

Insects account for approximately two-thirds of all terrestrial species on Earth. However, they are facing the largest mass decline of any animal or plant on the planet, raising questions about habitat loss, land-use changes, resource allocation, and climate change. Devils Tower National Monument is a geological formation found in the Northwest corner of Wyoming that is a unique area to conduct conservation and survey research due to the lack of urban development surrounding the Tower. While multiple plant and animal surveys have been conducted, there have been very few insect surveys, with the last major one being conducted in 1983-1985. Multiple trapping techniques were used including malaise, pitfalls, net sweeping, bait trapping, and UV lighting. Malaise and pitfall traps were on a week on/week off collecting schedule from the last week of June, 2020 until the first week of October, 2020 and then from the middle of June, 2022 until the beginning of October, 2022. A malaise trap was also placed on the top of the Tower during the 2022 collecting year for 3 days/month. All collecting took place within 500 feet of the Tower Trail and on the top of the Tower. Specimens were preserved in 70% alcohol or pinned and identified to family and species when possible. This research can be used for future management decisions, for maintaining the health of the local ecosystem, and for public/outreach programming.