The Price Lab at Salisbury University is working on several projects to document Maryland insects, including scarab beetles, ants, and pollinators of concern.
Current Research Projects:
Scarab biodiversity in urban environments.
Mammal-dung beetle associations using the dung of different mammal guilds.
Ant biodiversity in urban environments
The superfamily Scarabaeoidea comprises ~ 35,000 species worldwide, comprising 10 % of all known beetles. In the United States alone, there are over 1,500 species (Kriska and Young 2002; Ratcliffe and Paulsen 2008). Scarabaeoid beetles are prominent members of the entomofauna and have been reported as important biocontrol agents, agricultural pests, and biological indicators.
Several students in my lab have investigated the biodiversity and conservation of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Our research uses complementary sampling approaches to examine ant communities across terrestrial and arboreal habitats. Pitfall traps and baiting are used to assess ground-dwelling ant community dynamics, while leaf-litter sampling is used to characterize ants and other litter-dwelling organisms. We also sample ants from pine and hardwood trees to examine the diversity and composition of arboreal ant communities.
This research was a collaboration among several institutions, including Salisbury University, The Salisbury Zoological Park, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
This research highlights species of global concern, specifically state concern. We have completed the pages for Butterflies and Bees. Please visit our site for more information. https://sites.google.com/view/mdpollinatorsofconcern
© 2021 Price Lab for Entomology, Dana L. Price