The Use of Pit-fall Traps for Estimating the Abundance of Arthropods, with Special Reference to the Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera)

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Abstract
Pitfall trapping of several species of tenebrionid beetles was undertaken at study sites in Rock Valley, Nevada, during weeks 10-37 of 4 consecutive years, 1971-1974. Six species were studied by mark-recapture, five for the full term of the study. Absence of recapture of several species resulted in no estimates of numbers for several species in 1974. We conclude that the Geometric Model for Frequency of Recapture gives the most conservative estimates. Utilizing this model, we estimated numbers per hectare and determined the 95% confidence limits. We concluded that pitfall trapping is not uniformly applicable to all species of surface-dwelling arthropods with the vagility of a species appearing to be a most important factor. However, surface-dwelling Tenebrionidae would seem more amenable to this method than most surface-dwellers.