Abstract:
Ball State University’s Christy Woods is an educational and recreational space that is
used to bring the Ball State and Muncie community closer to nature. Its programming has
focused on land management for plant species. This paper compiles a species list for the
arthropods present on the property in the summer of 2019 by identifying specimens collected
using the standard collection method of Yellow Pan Traps. The collected specimens include
Orders Araneae, Coleoptera, Collembola, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Isopoda,
Lepidoptera, Opiliones, Orthoptera, Thysanoptera, and Trombidiformes. This includes species
which are pollinators, detritovores, vectors, parasitoids, and more. Of the 369 specimens
identified, 149 were identified as distinctly different species. Further detailed identification of the
more cryptic of these specimens would likely increase that number. Dipterans and
Hymenopterans were the most well represented of the orders, with over 200 individuals
collected. Repeated collection and identification events at different times of year could also
continue to add to the existing taxa list.
