Leaf Litter Diversity

Kefyn Catley from the American Museum of Natural History came to Princeton to show us the biodiversity within leaf litter. After a short hike to a forest section on campus, we collected some leaf litter by raking the leaves and about 1 inch of the top soil into leaf-straining device that separated the larger litter from the smaller dirt and invertebrates. Later, back in the lab, we put the leaf litter in a Burlese funnel to collect the insects.  Using a disecting microscope, we were able to identify the insects using a dichotomous key.

We used many other techniques of collecting and studying insects from the forest litter. Butterfly nets can be used not only for catching flying insects, but also for "beating" small brush to knock insects off. We put a white canvas cloth under the bush we were whacking to collect the bugs. When place in a vial, the critters are real easy to observe with a hand lens.