Yellowstone inverts?

[numbat1000]

Hey all,
I will be visiting Yellowstone National Park soon, and was wondering what tyes of arachnids (or any other notable inverts, for that matter) I should be looking for, and where I should be looking. I will have a blacklight flashlight for scorpions, or anything that shows up under blacklight.

Thanks in advance!



--numbat1000

 

[Smokehound714]

Fyi collecting from a national park is super illegal.

If you aim to keep anything, check maps and target just outside park boundaries.

 

[The Snark]

Definitely keep an eye out for Homo Dranocis with the RANGER marking on it's shoulders.
If you coat a few square miles of the park with crude oil you might get your hand slapped but take one small rock or bug out of the place and it's depredating national resources Feds up the old bung hole time.

 

[pannaking22]

Don't bring anything in with you that looks suspicious (net, black light, beat sheet, etc.). I'll be honest, when I was in a national park once, I found a small beetle that just stunning, so I scooped it into an empty water bottle. I'm not advocating for collecting in national parks by any stretch, but we're all human and we all love our inverts, so sometimes lapses in judgement can be made This was something I did at my own risk and looking back, I was likely outside the park borders, but it still probably wasn't worth the risk. You'll get a major major fine if they catch you with anything they think is part of the park (though jacka**es climbing trees and rocks is somehow ok for the most part).

Snark, if the rocks and bugs are coated in crude oil and you take one, what happens then?

 

[bigjej]

Same argument can be made by visitors to coral feefs or any frahile environment. Say what you will but it xomes down to selfishness. Are worse things dome to ruin the NP? Sure. But that doesnt justify contributing to it in the name of 'love'. Instead, lobby for greater protection of our national resources that is the NPS.

---------- Post added 06-10-2015 at 11:27 AM ----------

Another alternarive is to briefly catch an invert in a glass jar for observing and releasing back and or photographing it. This way you and others after you can enjoy it.

 

[pannaking22]

Same argument can be made by visitors to coral feefs or any frahile environment. Say what you will but it xomes down to selfishness. Are worse things dome to ruin the NP? Sure. But that doesnt justify contributing to it in the name of 'love'. Instead, lobby for greater protection of our national resources that is the NPS.

---------- Post added 06-10-2015 at 11:27 AM ----------

Another alternarive is to briefly catch an invert in a glass jar for observing and releasing back and or photographing it. This way you and others after you can enjoy it.

That is an extremely valid point bigjej. It's the whole point of if everyone does something small it adds up. With how things are going in the US now, protection of our parks should be high priority.

Now that I have a camera that gets macro shots I'm happy with, I enjoy the challenge of getting a decent photograph rather than capturing the insect half the time. I do still collect insects, but within parks and preserves I can now be happy collecting photographs instead.

 

[The Snark]

Snark, if the rocks and bugs are coated in crude oil and you take one, what happens then?

Destroying evidence?

If you think the laws regarding depredation in the US are strict, take a visit to Australia. I watched a LEO on the beach watching divers in a dingy with binoculars. He made a call on a radio and a Zodiac zoomed in from an offshore patrol boat and nabbed the divers. The guy on the beach saw one of the divers drop something into their dingy. It's okay to take items that washed ashore but not from the reef.

 

[numbat1000]

Hahaha sorry guys, I didn't mean from the actual park. I meant from the Northwest Wyoming, Yellowstone Park area. I will be visiting the park, but I typically try to adhere to state park laws.

So anyways, what species live in the area? Oh, and also the Grand Canyon area?

 

[pannaking22]

Hahaha sorry guys, I didn't mean from the actual park. I meant from the Northwest Wyoming, Yellowstone Park area. I will be visiting the park, but I typically try to adhere to state park laws.

So anyways, what species live in the area? Oh, and also the Grand Canyon area?

You can get some sweet wood boring beetles out in Wyoming and some great tiger beetles if you find some nice sandy areas.

Grand Canyon area gets you some nice tenebrionids and scarabs, I saw a huge Megarhyssa wasp when I was there too. Also some scorps and solifugids and maybe even Loxoceles kaiba if you're lucky

 

[numbat1000]

Ah, thank you Pannaking!
I love tiger beetles! <3 How about arachnids? Are there any exeptionally interesting ones in that area?

Funny you should mention Megarhyssa wasps; I saw my first one only a couple weeks ago, in the woods near my house. They are amazing, I have never seen anything quite like it in my life. Although I knew about them, I never actually considered I would ever see one, not to mention catch and preserve one! XD
Where would I possibly find solifugids? As in, what type of terrain do they like?

 

[pannaking22]

Ah, thank you Pannaking!
I love tiger beetles! <3 How about arachnids? Are there any exeptionally interesting ones in that area?

Funny you should mention Megarhyssa wasps; I saw my first one only a couple weeks ago, in the woods near my house. They are amazing, I have never seen anything quite like it in my life. Although I knew about them, I never actually considered I would ever see one, not to mention catch and preserve one! XD
Where would I possibly find solifugids? As in, what type of terrain do they like?

You bet, happy to help!

I love tiger beetles too. I'm really trying to expand my collection of them right now. Getting there slowly but surely. If you catch any interesting ones I'd be more than willing to trade Same for cerambycids or buprestids. Unfortunately when I was out that way I was searching more for beetles than arachnids, which I'm really kicking myself for now. There are various Phidippus you can find in the Grand Canyon area and you'll probably come across some widows too. I'm not sure what scorp species are in that area, but I'm sure if you look carefully you could find some.

I actually came across my first Megarhyssa a couple years ago while out doing fieldwork. There were about a dozen females on a log just going to town and a couple males buzzing around as well. Managed to get two species and both M/F of both. I got some pics too, so I'll have to dig around and see if I can find those and get them posted.

I've found solifugids out west underneath logs for the most part, so if you find a forested area with some fallen trees you'll likely find them. I actually found a couple on the edge of the Grand Canyon when I flipped logs around a fire circle. I know they build burrows too, but I've never dug around. If Smokehound sees this thread he will probably have some info for you.