DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Title

A preliminary report on non-insect arthropods (Arachnida, Diplopoda) at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park

Authors

G. B. Edwards, Florida State Collection of ArthropodsFollow
Karen Relish, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Copeland, FLFollow

Date of this Version

4-28-2023

Citation

Edwards GB, Relish K. 2023. A preliminary report on non-insect arthropods (Arachnida, Diplopoda) at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. Insecta Mundi 0986: 1–5.

Comments

Published on April 28, 2023 by Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc. P.O. Box 141874 Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 USA http://centerforsystematicentomology.org/

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License,

Abstract

Use of a combination of a novel pitfall trap setup and Lindgren funnel traps at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park resulted in the collection of few specimens due to a higher than normal ground water level. Despite this, some unusual specimens of Arachnida and Diplopoda were found, including the second known record of Mysmena incredula Gertsch and Davis, 1936 (Araneae: Mysmenidae) in Florida.

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park (FSPSP) is an 80,000+ acre preserve approximately 20 miles long by 5 miles wide in Collier County, Florida, receiving on average about 60 inches (1524 mm) of rain per year during May to October. It is largely a seasonally flooded depression in the underlying limestone, with elevations vary­ing from <0.5 to 6.0 feet over short distances of 100 yards/91.44 meters or less. The strands are characterized by a canopy of bald cypress, red maple, and laurel oak trees. About 0.5% of the Preserve consists of rockland hammocks, also referred to as tropical hardwood hammocks, characterized by gumbo limbo, strangler fig, royal palm, and stopper trees (Carver 2014). Rockland hammocks can also be seasonally flooded but normally less so than strands. During some years, rockland hammocks can experience seasonal flooding sometimes ~30–60 days whereas for strands the hydroperiod is typically ~250 days per year in southwest Florida (Duever and Roberts 2013).

No list of spiders or other arthropods has previously existed for FSPSP. Due to interest by the authors in documenting the species of spiders occurring in the state, and interest by park personnel in documenting the flora and fauna in the park, a cooperative agreement was developed by which certain unique and generally non-public areas of FSPSP could be surveyed by two trapping methods - Lindgren funnel and a novel PVC pitfall trap similar to that used for mole cricket sampling.