Bugs, Bugs, Bugs (for Hunter and other budding entomologists)

There are two scientists here studying arthropods as indicators of biodiversity- Dr. John Banks and Lisa Hannon of the University of Washington. Insects and other arthropods are important for coffee farms and other agricultural systems for pollination and as biological control. Predators like spiders and wasps control some of coffee's pests by predation. Decomposers also return important nutrients to the soil. They are measuring the insect biodiversity (how many different species of arthropods in the area) as an indicator of the health of the coffee farm. In general, the more biodiversity, the better. They use two kinds of traps. One is called a malaise trap, which catches flying insects. Pitfall traps are basically a cup with soapy water that is stuck in the ground. When a walking arthropod passes it, it falls in and it can't climb out because of the soap. So far, they have been finding lots of parasitic wasps (see above). They lay their eggs in beetles or other arthropods. We have seen lots of spiders. Check out the "landing strips" that the predator spider has constructed in its web above. These mimic the "landing strips" that attract bugs to flowers. Smart, eh? One concern for coffee plants are an invasive species of beetle, called the coffee berry borer beetle. These beetles attack the beans, spending most of its life cycle inside the berry. This reduces the yield of the crop. It is very hard to control; pesticides do not work well since it is inside the berry itself.