Research Training Program

Emilie Miller
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Terry Erwin, Ph.D.
Supervising Scientist
Department of Entomology

"The stunning morphological intricacies of these insects could never be described on paper. This experience has made taxonomy a passion for me."

New collection methods such as canopy fogging have allowed entomologists access to insect communities that were previously unexplored. The study of these populations presents a unique opportunity to improve understanding of the biodiversity of the most abundant form of animal life. In this study, assassin bugs were sorted from 900 samples collected over a three year period using fogging techniques in a one hectare transect of forest in the Onkone Gare Camp in Reserva Ethnica Woarani, Ecuador. This intensive collecting protocol made it possible to produce reliable estimates of diversity and distribution of assassin bug species in this microregion. The results are quite impressive. 178 species of reduviids were found, nearly tripling the number of know species form Ecuador. using statistical analyses such as Chao diversity estimators, more than 230 species were predicted to be present in the one hectare plot. Vastly more individuals and species were present in these samples than expected at the beginning of the sutdy. When compared with analyses of the caribid beetle community from the same samples, reduviids displayed nearly identical patterns of distribution and population fluctuation. Futher work will focus on identification and description of new reduviid species and comparison among more insect taxa from Onkone Gare and nearby regions.