Background

We understand that plants and bugs have an complex relationship. Many bugs and their young eat plants. They can form galls within plants due to their eggs or young. Plants protect themselves through slippery leaves or tough bark. Their relationship can also be beneficial as well. Bugs eat other bugs to protect plants like when ladybugs eat aphids. Flowering plants benefit from bugs through pollination. There are many ways that plants and bugs interact. This results in our main question: Does plant biodiversity affect bug biodiversity?

There is also a relationship between the amount of species of plants and the amount of species of bugs. The more plant types there are in an area the more bug types there are and the more bugs there are overall. We also understand that other variables can affect bug biodiversity like humidity, wind, temperature and habit, so we made sure to also track that.

Locations

The main ecosystems consisted of the prairie, savanna, woodlands, and the wetlands. For our prairie area we targeted dense vegetation, with no trees, and grassy land. The savanna had very few trees and was dominated by grassy areas and shrubs. The woodlands have complete tree coverage, and the variegation isn't as prevalent. The final area is the wetlands, these include plants that are adapted to high water levels and are near bodies of water.

Here are the key locations we went to:

North Park Natural Area had a wide array of ecosystems, with a pond near the center, with sporadic tree coverage and plenty of grasses and flowers

Eugene Field was an open area with a lot of flowering plants and shrubs near the river

Walking Stick Woods was a mix of a woods along with more open areas like a prairie

The Stone Pond was a man made water structure with many tall reeds and mostly covered with trees, but some areas with empty grassy fields

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