Canopy fogging reveals diversity of Scolytinae (Coleotera: Curculionidae) in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Canopy fogging has revealed a hyper-diverse scolytine (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) fauna in the Ecuadorian rain forest. The diversity of bark beetles from two sites in the Ecuadorian Amazon is presented. Beetles collected by insecticidal fogging were sorted to morpho-species and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. Previously, fewer than 50 scolytine species were recorded from Ecuador. The canopy fogging collecting techniques utilized by this study has uncovered approximately 400 morpho-species, including many undescribed species. Bark beetle diversity is compared between the two collecting sites. Species accumulation curves and diversity statistics are calculated to estimate the amount of collecting effort needed to arrive at an accurate representation of the bark beetle fauna.